Dr. Stacy Sims

So when we start losing the higher doses and pulses of estrogen, and we have more and more anovulatory cycles, so we don't necessarily produce progesterone, every system gets affected, specifically bone and muscle. So we'll have women who are complaining about waking up feeling squishy overnight and they can't even open like the jar of pickles because they don't have the strength.

So when we start losing the higher doses and pulses of estrogen, and we have more and more anovulatory cycles, so we don't necessarily produce progesterone, every system gets affected, specifically bone and muscle. So we'll have women who are complaining about waking up feeling squishy overnight and they can't even open like the jar of pickles because they don't have the strength.

And they're like, what's happened? That's an estrogen effect. Because when you look at how estrogen affects skeletal muscle and the feedback mechanism for strength and power development, it's in every part. It's on the satellite cell to develop more muscle fibers. It's on the nerve endings to be able to say, yep, let's create a really fast nerve conduction mechanism.

And they're like, what's happened? That's an estrogen effect. Because when you look at how estrogen affects skeletal muscle and the feedback mechanism for strength and power development, it's in every part. It's on the satellite cell to develop more muscle fibers. It's on the nerve endings to be able to say, yep, let's create a really fast nerve conduction mechanism.

across the gap junction to be able to fire a lot of fibers to create a strong contraction. And it's also part of the contractile proteins itself to be able to grab together to create a strong contraction. So when you lose estrogen, you're losing the impetus for those three main points of strength and lean mass development. So when I start explaining this, people are like, shit, now what do I do?

across the gap junction to be able to fire a lot of fibers to create a strong contraction. And it's also part of the contractile proteins itself to be able to grab together to create a strong contraction. So when you lose estrogen, you're losing the impetus for those three main points of strength and lean mass development. So when I start explaining this, people are like, shit, now what do I do?

It's like, okay, well, now we want to look at a nervous system response. Because if we can find an external stress that's going to create the same cascade feedback mechanisms that estrogen did, then we can keep progressing. And that is strength training. But it's not lightweight, going to failure type stuff.

It's like, okay, well, now we want to look at a nervous system response. Because if we can find an external stress that's going to create the same cascade feedback mechanisms that estrogen did, then we can keep progressing. And that is strength training. But it's not lightweight, going to failure type stuff.

We have to take a page out of the power-based work where we're looking at zero to six reps. We're doing heavy loads. We have lots of recovery between those loads because we're trying to really stimulate the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system to say, you know what?

We have to take a page out of the power-based work where we're looking at zero to six reps. We're doing heavy loads. We have lots of recovery between those loads because we're trying to really stimulate the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system to say, you know what?

I've got to have a lot of muscle fibers and I need to be able to recruit them quickly to have a very strong contraction to withstand that stress and load. So now we can build lean mass, strength and power without estrogen.

I've got to have a lot of muscle fibers and I need to be able to recruit them quickly to have a very strong contraction to withstand that stress and load. So now we can build lean mass, strength and power without estrogen.

So when we're looking at perimenopause, we have to look at all the systems that are being affected and we have to look at that external stress to apply to the body to create the adaptations that we want. So when we look at it, it's all about the intensity and the quality of the work. It's not about volume.

So when we're looking at perimenopause, we have to look at all the systems that are being affected and we have to look at that external stress to apply to the body to create the adaptations that we want. So when we look at it, it's all about the intensity and the quality of the work. It's not about volume.

So like I said earlier, where zone two is not really appropriate for women, at this point, it doesn't really do much for women at all. Because when you take away our sex hormones, we're really endurant. We're really fatigue resistant. We burn a lot of fat. So we have to look at how do we polarize it. We want to do some true high intensity work.

So like I said earlier, where zone two is not really appropriate for women, at this point, it doesn't really do much for women at all. Because when you take away our sex hormones, we're really endurant. We're really fatigue resistant. We burn a lot of fat. So we have to look at how do we polarize it. We want to do some true high intensity work.

So that's 30 seconds or less, as fast and hard as you can go with two to three minutes recovery to have full recovery to be able to do it again. Might do that two or three times. Or we do true high intensity interval training.

So that's 30 seconds or less, as fast and hard as you can go with two to three minutes recovery to have full recovery to be able to do it again. Might do that two or three times. Or we do true high intensity interval training.

And that is a little bit lower intensity and a little bit longer, but you're still really polarizing where when you go to do your interval, you're doing it at the intensity you're supposed to. And the recovery, you're fully recovering so that you can hit that intensity again. So the three big things there are proper strength training. and the intensity of your sprint or high intensity work.

And that is a little bit lower intensity and a little bit longer, but you're still really polarizing where when you go to do your interval, you're doing it at the intensity you're supposed to. And the recovery, you're fully recovering so that you can hit that intensity again. So the three big things there are proper strength training. and the intensity of your sprint or high intensity work.

So like I said, it's not a lot of volume, it's the quality. Because each one of those factors affects the body in a way that will cause positive change. So strength, like I said, you know, you're going to get that central nervous system response.

So like I said, it's not a lot of volume, it's the quality. Because each one of those factors affects the body in a way that will cause positive change. So strength, like I said, you know, you're going to get that central nervous system response.

to build bone and muscle when we're looking at that high intensity interval training which is not full intensity but maybe 80 percent this is causes more of a cardiovascular and a blood glucose improvement and then when we're doing that high high intensity sprint interval work It causes a cascade of what we call myokines.

to build bone and muscle when we're looking at that high intensity interval training which is not full intensity but maybe 80 percent this is causes more of a cardiovascular and a blood glucose improvement and then when we're doing that high high intensity sprint interval work It causes a cascade of what we call myokines.

Yeah. So I started as an athlete and an academic and an academic in sports science and nutrition. And all the things that we are learning in class didn't really apply to me as an athlete or my teammates. So that really started the question of what are we doing? And as you started digging in, realizing that there really wasn't very much research on women.

Yeah. So I started as an athlete and an academic and an academic in sports science and nutrition. And all the things that we are learning in class didn't really apply to me as an athlete or my teammates. So that really started the question of what are we doing? And as you started digging in, realizing that there really wasn't very much research on women.

So these are little hormone and feedback molecules that go from the skeletal muscle to the liver and the storage area of body fat and says, you know what? We don't need to store body fat. We don't need to take these circulating molecules. fatty acids and make them visceral fat. We need to use them and store them in really active tissue.

So these are little hormone and feedback molecules that go from the skeletal muscle to the liver and the storage area of body fat and says, you know what? We don't need to store body fat. We don't need to take these circulating molecules. fatty acids and make them visceral fat. We need to use them and store them in really active tissue.

So the aspect of doing those three things is the mainstay during perimenopause is to benefit body composition, our metabolic health, our cardiovascular health, and then most importantly, our brain health. Because if we're doing strength training and creating neural pathway plasticity, we're doing lactate training to improve brain metabolism.

So the aspect of doing those three things is the mainstay during perimenopause is to benefit body composition, our metabolic health, our cardiovascular health, and then most importantly, our brain health. Because if we're doing strength training and creating neural pathway plasticity, we're doing lactate training to improve brain metabolism.

Then again, we are able to support the brain when it is starting to lose the receptor sensitivity of estrogen, progesterone, because we don't have those sex hormones anymore.

Then again, we are able to support the brain when it is starting to lose the receptor sensitivity of estrogen, progesterone, because we don't have those sex hormones anymore.

When you look at those classes, it feeds into the mentality that we've grown up with where you have to feel smashed, absolutely smashed and burnt out when you finish a class to make it worth anything because it's about the, quote, calorie burn and the smash aspect. I think Orange Theory even has splat points or something like that, trying to navigate how hard it is.

When you look at those classes, it feeds into the mentality that we've grown up with where you have to feel smashed, absolutely smashed and burnt out when you finish a class to make it worth anything because it's about the, quote, calorie burn and the smash aspect. I think Orange Theory even has splat points or something like that, trying to navigate how hard it is.

But the length of those classes and the speed at which those movements are done is really a precursor for injury with how fast the movements are underweight. And you can't really recover well enough to hit that 80 plus percent for your interval. Because if you're looking at a 45 to an hour long class, you cannot hold high intensity for that long. That puts you in moderate intensity.

But the length of those classes and the speed at which those movements are done is really a precursor for injury with how fast the movements are underweight. And you can't really recover well enough to hit that 80 plus percent for your interval. Because if you're looking at a 45 to an hour long class, you cannot hold high intensity for that long. That puts you in moderate intensity.

Now, the problem with moderate intensity is our bodies, when we're perimenopausal, are already under a significant amount of sympathetic stress. So this means we're tired but wired. We have a really difficult time coming down from that anxiety and that boredom. awakeness, flight or fight sensation, and moderate intensity perpetuates that.

Now, the problem with moderate intensity is our bodies, when we're perimenopausal, are already under a significant amount of sympathetic stress. So this means we're tired but wired. We have a really difficult time coming down from that anxiety and that boredom. awakeness, flight or fight sensation, and moderate intensity perpetuates that.

When we look at what it does from a metabolic standpoint, it doesn't have a post-exercise response that true high intensity does of increasing growth hormone and testosterone that drops cortisol. So when we're doing this moderate intensity stuff, we end up with a higher circulating amount of cortisol, which becomes our new baseline. And we don't get any of the metabolic change.

When we look at what it does from a metabolic standpoint, it doesn't have a post-exercise response that true high intensity does of increasing growth hormone and testosterone that drops cortisol. So when we're doing this moderate intensity stuff, we end up with a higher circulating amount of cortisol, which becomes our new baseline. And we don't get any of the metabolic change.

We're not going to see a dissipation of our minnow bellies or visceral fat. We're going to see an increase in that. We're going to be completely tired all the time, which means we are not sleeping well. And if you can't sleep well, you're not going to invoke any change. So when we're looking at that moderate intensity work that people feel is high intensity, I feel like it's such a disservice.

We're not going to see a dissipation of our minnow bellies or visceral fat. We're going to see an increase in that. We're going to be completely tired all the time, which means we are not sleeping well. And if you can't sleep well, you're not going to invoke any change. So when we're looking at that moderate intensity work that people feel is high intensity, I feel like it's such a disservice.

And even when you're looking at the textbooks and textbook pictures of representation, they're all male, male bodies. So that was so many decades ago. And ever since then, I've been really trying to dig into both research and the application of research to get women to understand that their bodies are different. We have different physiology from birth. We have hormone fluctuations.

And even when you're looking at the textbooks and textbook pictures of representation, they're all male, male bodies. So that was so many decades ago. And ever since then, I've been really trying to dig into both research and the application of research to get women to understand that their bodies are different. We have different physiology from birth. We have hormone fluctuations.

And what makes me angry about these classes is that they are really marketing to women 40 plus. And I'm like, this is just not appropriate. These women are coming, wanting help. They want to do some strength training. And the protocols you're throwing in there are specific for men. And you're not looking at what's happening when women hit 40 onwards. So when we talk about true high intensity,

And what makes me angry about these classes is that they are really marketing to women 40 plus. And I'm like, this is just not appropriate. These women are coming, wanting help. They want to do some strength training. And the protocols you're throwing in there are specific for men. And you're not looking at what's happening when women hit 40 onwards. So when we talk about true high intensity,

We look at taking a page out of High Rocks or CrossFit where they're doing every minute on the minute for four minutes and then one minute full recovery. And you might do two or three rounds of that. And that is true high intensity work because each minute you're going to go as hard as you can. It might be 40 or 50 seconds, 20 seconds to get to the next one.

We look at taking a page out of High Rocks or CrossFit where they're doing every minute on the minute for four minutes and then one minute full recovery. And you might do two or three rounds of that. And that is true high intensity work because each minute you're going to go as hard as you can. It might be 40 or 50 seconds, 20 seconds to get to the next one.

Then you do that four times in a full minute to like come down. Maybe it's two minutes to come down. Repeat that again and maybe a third time. So all up, it's 20 minutes of work. And that is true high intensity work.

Then you do that four times in a full minute to like come down. Maybe it's two minutes to come down. Repeat that again and maybe a third time. So all up, it's 20 minutes of work. And that is true high intensity work.

It wouldn't necessarily make them worse off as you're looking at it, comparing to someone who's just doing low intensity work all the time. But what happens in those classes and low intensity or sitting around is there's a really high incidence of being skinny fat. So that means you might look lean, but you don't have a lot of really good quality lean mass and you have low bone density.

It wouldn't necessarily make them worse off as you're looking at it, comparing to someone who's just doing low intensity work all the time. But what happens in those classes and low intensity or sitting around is there's a really high incidence of being skinny fat. So that means you might look lean, but you don't have a lot of really good quality lean mass and you have low bone density.

There are so many women in the past about six months that have come saying, I don't understand what's going on. I got my DEXA scan and I go to these classes. I go to boot camp. I go to Les Mills. I go to Orange Theory. I'm osteopenic and I have a very high amount of visceral fat. I'm like, okay, well, there's two things. One, you're probably not eating enough.

There are so many women in the past about six months that have come saying, I don't understand what's going on. I got my DEXA scan and I go to these classes. I go to boot camp. I go to Les Mills. I go to Orange Theory. I'm osteopenic and I have a very high amount of visceral fat. I'm like, okay, well, there's two things. One, you're probably not eating enough.

And two, you're putting yourself under this moderate intensity load almost every day and Your body has no chance to recover and polarize and understand that it needs to step up its game to be able to answer the challenge of exercise because it's not getting the feedback to actually adapt. It's getting the feedback to stay tired but wired and in a stressed state like you have to run from a bear.

And two, you're putting yourself under this moderate intensity load almost every day and Your body has no chance to recover and polarize and understand that it needs to step up its game to be able to answer the challenge of exercise because it's not getting the feedback to actually adapt. It's getting the feedback to stay tired but wired and in a stressed state like you have to run from a bear.

Sure. Yeah, no. I get this in too. Because of the weighted vest. So if we look at the weighted vest, that changes your biomechanics. Because like I was saying earlier, our center of gravity is down in our hips. So if you're putting a weighted vest on, you're putting all the weight up here, which is not where our center of gravity is. So that changes your biomechanics.

Sure. Yeah, no. I get this in too. Because of the weighted vest. So if we look at the weighted vest, that changes your biomechanics. Because like I was saying earlier, our center of gravity is down in our hips. So if you're putting a weighted vest on, you're putting all the weight up here, which is not where our center of gravity is. So that changes your biomechanics.

And this is why you see a lot of women are like, oh, I've got a tendon issue. I've got an Achilles issue, which then develops into plantar fascia problems. It would be better to get on that treadmill without the weighted vest, but holding two heavy dumbbells and trying to do farmer's carry five minutes on, two minutes off on that incline.

And this is why you see a lot of women are like, oh, I've got a tendon issue. I've got an Achilles issue, which then develops into plantar fascia problems. It would be better to get on that treadmill without the weighted vest, but holding two heavy dumbbells and trying to do farmer's carry five minutes on, two minutes off on that incline.

So you're getting strength, high intensity work, and then some recovery in between.

So you're getting strength, high intensity work, and then some recovery in between.

And these affect every system of the body. And we respond to training differently than men. We respond to stress differently than men. And the more we dig into it, the more we realize there's a lot of research to be done. So the research that we do have, I'm really adamant about getting it out so women can be empowered to understand what is going on.

And these affect every system of the body. And we respond to training differently than men. We respond to stress differently than men. And the more we dig into it, the more we realize there's a lot of research to be done. So the research that we do have, I'm really adamant about getting it out so women can be empowered to understand what is going on.

Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.

Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.

Yeah. So polarized means that you go top end capacity and recovery is really low. So when you first start doing high intensity work, you might find you need more recovery in order to hit that top end capacity. And that's fine. Women underestimate recovery all of the time.

Yeah. So polarized means that you go top end capacity and recovery is really low. So when you first start doing high intensity work, you might find you need more recovery in order to hit that top end capacity. And that's fine. Women underestimate recovery all of the time.

So polarized means that you're staying out of that middle zone so you can go super hard when you need to and you recover super easy. So we look at the moderate intensity stuff as it's too hard to be easy and it's too easy to be hard to invoke change. Stay out of that. You want to be hard to invoke change and you want to go easy to recover so that you can go hard again.

So polarized means that you're staying out of that middle zone so you can go super hard when you need to and you recover super easy. So we look at the moderate intensity stuff as it's too hard to be easy and it's too easy to be hard to invoke change. Stay out of that. You want to be hard to invoke change and you want to go easy to recover so that you can go hard again.

Bare minimum, we see two sprint interval sessions or one sprint and one high intensity session and three lifting sessions a week. But you can combine the sprint and the lifting for one day in the gym. So you might do lower body posterior chain work. We're doing hip thrusts and deadlifts. And then we finish off with some sprints on the bike. And then you're done and dusted.

Bare minimum, we see two sprint interval sessions or one sprint and one high intensity session and three lifting sessions a week. But you can combine the sprint and the lifting for one day in the gym. So you might do lower body posterior chain work. We're doing hip thrusts and deadlifts. And then we finish off with some sprints on the bike. And then you're done and dusted.

Or maybe you do box jumps instead of sprints on the bike as your high-intensity work, and then you're done and dusted. So like I was saying earlier, it's about the quality of the work that you're doing rather than the volume of the work that you're doing.

Or maybe you do box jumps instead of sprints on the bike as your high-intensity work, and then you're done and dusted. So like I was saying earlier, it's about the quality of the work that you're doing rather than the volume of the work that you're doing.

When we look at how bones respond to stress, we need multidirectional stress to invoke actual bone regeneration and increasing our bone density. Jumping does that because you're landing and it's complete... stress in all the different planes that go up through the skeletal system, which then causes a cascade response of I need to be stronger through the entire bone.

When we look at how bones respond to stress, we need multidirectional stress to invoke actual bone regeneration and increasing our bone density. Jumping does that because you're landing and it's complete... stress in all the different planes that go up through the skeletal system, which then causes a cascade response of I need to be stronger through the entire bone.

If we look at just running, it's very uni-planar and it doesn't cause that multi-directional stress. We look at walking, it doesn't either. Strength training does, but not to the extent of jump training. So if people can't jump, strength training is going to help improve bone density, especially the heavier work that you should be doing. But just plain running doesn't do it.

If we look at just running, it's very uni-planar and it doesn't cause that multi-directional stress. We look at walking, it doesn't either. Strength training does, but not to the extent of jump training. So if people can't jump, strength training is going to help improve bone density, especially the heavier work that you should be doing. But just plain running doesn't do it.

You can do that. When we're looking specifically at building bone, it's a landing, not how we've been taught with soft knees, but absorbing the impact through our bones. We're not jumping really high.

You can do that. When we're looking specifically at building bone, it's a landing, not how we've been taught with soft knees, but absorbing the impact through our bones. We're not jumping really high.

We might be on a low box and jumping off as a depth jump and landing kind of flat footed hard or doing pogo, pogo jumping where you're flat footed and absorbing the impact through your skeletal system. And it only takes 10 minutes, three times a week at the most to invoke change.

We might be on a low box and jumping off as a depth jump and landing kind of flat footed hard or doing pogo, pogo jumping where you're flat footed and absorbing the impact through your skeletal system. And it only takes 10 minutes, three times a week at the most to invoke change.

Because face it, we put as much work into our training and we take time out of our day to really work on our health and well-being. So it should be appropriate for us. We shouldn't be fighting the battle against our own bodies because of protocols based on male data.

Because face it, we put as much work into our training and we take time out of our day to really work on our health and well-being. So it should be appropriate for us. We shouldn't be fighting the battle against our own bodies because of protocols based on male data.

but you're not getting the impact from the ground. Because our body moves when it hits the ground, the ground doesn't move. Whereas the trampoline, it moves. So you're not getting the same kind of reactive force through the skeletal system.

but you're not getting the impact from the ground. Because our body moves when it hits the ground, the ground doesn't move. Whereas the trampoline, it moves. So you're not getting the same kind of reactive force through the skeletal system.

If I were to use the buzzwords of fasting, I would say you do your 12-hour overnight fast. That's what you do for fasting. But when we look at it from a hormonal response, reducing stress, improving body composition, brain health, all the things that people want with fasting, for women, we need to eat within a half an hour of waking up because we have a cortisol peak and we need to drop that peak.

If I were to use the buzzwords of fasting, I would say you do your 12-hour overnight fast. That's what you do for fasting. But when we look at it from a hormonal response, reducing stress, improving body composition, brain health, all the things that people want with fasting, for women, we need to eat within a half an hour of waking up because we have a cortisol peak and we need to drop that peak.

We also see from circadian research that fueling throughout the day improves sleep, but it also improves the feedback for increasing lean mass development and dropping body fat. So when we have a big hole of no food and what happens for the most part is women will start a fast and they'll try to hold their fast till noon and then they end up working out fasted.

We also see from circadian research that fueling throughout the day improves sleep, but it also improves the feedback for increasing lean mass development and dropping body fat. So when we have a big hole of no food and what happens for the most part is women will start a fast and they'll try to hold their fast till noon and then they end up working out fasted.

And the brain, especially the hypothalamus, is like, what's happening here? There's no fuel for this exercise. I'm going to start breaking down lean mass because I need some amino acids for some fuel. And I can't support really metabolically active tissue when there's no fuel coming in.

And the brain, especially the hypothalamus, is like, what's happening here? There's no fuel for this exercise. I'm going to start breaking down lean mass because I need some amino acids for some fuel. And I can't support really metabolically active tissue when there's no fuel coming in.

So when we start looking at what's the best way to counter the body comp changes that are happening in perimenopause... train smart, eat. Eat during the day. Stop eating after dinner so you don't have nighttime snacks and making sure that two to three hours before you go to bed was your last meal so that you can get into a deep, reparative sleep.

So when we start looking at what's the best way to counter the body comp changes that are happening in perimenopause... train smart, eat. Eat during the day. Stop eating after dinner so you don't have nighttime snacks and making sure that two to three hours before you go to bed was your last meal so that you can get into a deep, reparative sleep.

And I know sleep is fleeting for lots of people in perimenopause. So we need to work on the sleep hygiene and maybe it's adding supplements like apigenin and L-theanine. Maybe it's cycling progesterone to help with sleep so that you do get into that deep parasympathetic activation so that your body knows that it can change body comp.

And I know sleep is fleeting for lots of people in perimenopause. So we need to work on the sleep hygiene and maybe it's adding supplements like apigenin and L-theanine. Maybe it's cycling progesterone to help with sleep so that you do get into that deep parasympathetic activation so that your body knows that it can change body comp.

Because you cannot create change without enough calories and without good sleep.

Because you cannot create change without enough calories and without good sleep.

So that's my mission across the lifespan is to get women from puberty all the way through postmenopause up to speed about what their bodies are doing and how they can modify or alter what they're doing to get the best benefits.

So that's my mission across the lifespan is to get women from puberty all the way through postmenopause up to speed about what their bodies are doing and how they can modify or alter what they're doing to get the best benefits.

Absolutely. And from a physiological perspective, women have two areas in the hypothalamus that is very sensitive to nutrient density. The two areas are the arc areas, and we have what we call cispeptin neurons that get expressed. When we don't have enough food coming in, we don't have all those pepton neurons being expressed. So we have a hit on our entire endocrine system.

Absolutely. And from a physiological perspective, women have two areas in the hypothalamus that is very sensitive to nutrient density. The two areas are the arc areas, and we have what we call cispeptin neurons that get expressed. When we don't have enough food coming in, we don't have all those pepton neurons being expressed. So we have a hit on our entire endocrine system.

So that's not just estrogen and progesterone. It's also things like thyroid and our appetite hormones. Men have one area. So their sensitivity to nutrition density is not nearly there. as sensitive as it is for women. And I'd like to scope it down to calories per kilogram of fat-free mass.

So that's not just estrogen and progesterone. It's also things like thyroid and our appetite hormones. Men have one area. So their sensitivity to nutrition density is not nearly there. as sensitive as it is for women. And I'd like to scope it down to calories per kilogram of fat-free mass.

Women need a bare minimum of 35 calories per kilogram of fat-free mass to be able to maintain some endocrine health. Ideally, you want to see people up to 40 for minutes 15. When you start to drop below that 35 for women, we start to see a lot of subclinical disturbance in endocrine and sleep and body comp. For men... Thank you. Thank you.

Women need a bare minimum of 35 calories per kilogram of fat-free mass to be able to maintain some endocrine health. Ideally, you want to see people up to 40 for minutes 15. When you start to drop below that 35 for women, we start to see a lot of subclinical disturbance in endocrine and sleep and body comp. For men... Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, for sure. I like to kind of start this conversation when we look at the sex differences that exist at birth. So that's like without our hormone fluctuations from our menstrual cycle and stuff. So when we look at XX versus XY, because that's the primary area of research that we have. Very binary, but that's all we have at the moment.

Yeah, for sure. I like to kind of start this conversation when we look at the sex differences that exist at birth. So that's like without our hormone fluctuations from our menstrual cycle and stuff. So when we look at XX versus XY, because that's the primary area of research that we have. Very binary, but that's all we have at the moment.

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If you are born XX, then you have more endurant type fibers. So your slow twitch, your oxidative, very aerobic type fibers. And with that comes a lot of mitochondria work. So that means your body's really able to take fatty acids and use it, use oxygen and go long and slow.

If you are born XX, then you have more endurant type fibers. So your slow twitch, your oxidative, very aerobic type fibers. And with that comes a lot of mitochondria work. So that means your body's really able to take fatty acids and use it, use oxygen and go long and slow.

Yeah, part of it's misinformation and part of it is people become inherently lazy and don't want to... And I say that and I'll take full ownership of that statement. Because when we look at exercise, regardless of intensity, duration, mode, whatever it is, it's a super powerful stress that gets put on the body and the body responds in kind.

Yeah, part of it's misinformation and part of it is people become inherently lazy and don't want to... And I say that and I'll take full ownership of that statement. Because when we look at exercise, regardless of intensity, duration, mode, whatever it is, it's a super powerful stress that gets put on the body and the body responds in kind.

When we look at XY, they're born with more of the fast-twitch glycolytic power-based fibers, so good at speed, good at quick reaction time, good at doing super high-intensity work, and they have to work on developing that aerobic system.

When we look at XY, they're born with more of the fast-twitch glycolytic power-based fibers, so good at speed, good at quick reaction time, good at doing super high-intensity work, and they have to work on developing that aerobic system.

So yes, you're going to have inflammation after exercise, but the subsequent response is your body upregulates its anti... inflammatory and antioxidative responses. So the chronic use of exercise improves oxidation and inflammation. It also improves autophagy.

So yes, you're going to have inflammation after exercise, but the subsequent response is your body upregulates its anti... inflammatory and antioxidative responses. So the chronic use of exercise improves oxidation and inflammation. It also improves autophagy.

So all the things that people are talking about by using pharmaceuticals for longevity or trying to biohack by using microdoses of this and peptides and stuff, you can use exercise. And it's just understanding what kind and dosage. It's not the blanket ACSM 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity, which is based on male data, right? So we have to be very nuanced in what we're talking about.

So all the things that people are talking about by using pharmaceuticals for longevity or trying to biohack by using microdoses of this and peptides and stuff, you can use exercise. And it's just understanding what kind and dosage. It's not the blanket ACSM 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity, which is based on male data, right? So we have to be very nuanced in what we're talking about.

You have to be very dedicated to the strength training and eating protein. Because when we look at protein, protein and a high protein diet induces satiation and increases our natural production of our GLP-1s. So if we are looking at using Ozempic as well as strength training and high protein, you're going to get better body composition, better appetite control, better appetite hormone regulation.

You have to be very dedicated to the strength training and eating protein. Because when we look at protein, protein and a high protein diet induces satiation and increases our natural production of our GLP-1s. So if we are looking at using Ozempic as well as strength training and high protein, you're going to get better body composition, better appetite control, better appetite hormone regulation.

And it's going to allow you to get off the Ozempic when you get to a certain point, which is decided by you and your doctor or whatever your lifestyle choice is.

And it's going to allow you to get off the Ozempic when you get to a certain point, which is decided by you and your doctor or whatever your lifestyle choice is.

This is a time. Yeah. Well, this is a time where you can play. You can play a little bit. You can try a lot of things. It depends on your hormone profile. It's like what kind of if you're using hormonal contraception, what kind is it? Is it oral contraceptive? Is it a Mirena? Is it a copper IUD?

This is a time. Yeah. Well, this is a time where you can play. You can play a little bit. You can try a lot of things. It depends on your hormone profile. It's like what kind of if you're using hormonal contraception, what kind is it? Is it oral contraceptive? Is it a Mirena? Is it a copper IUD?

All of those have different responses within the body, which is going to affect the kind of training and how you feel about training. Naturally cycling, are you finding changes in your bleed pattern? Are you finding changes in the length of your cycle? Well, those are beginning stopgaps and warning signs that you're putting your body under too much stress.

All of those have different responses within the body, which is going to affect the kind of training and how you feel about training. Naturally cycling, are you finding changes in your bleed pattern? Are you finding changes in the length of your cycle? Well, those are beginning stopgaps and warning signs that you're putting your body under too much stress.

But for the most part, you want to find a goal and the basic idea of periodization of both cardiovascular and strength. is beneficial. If you're someone who wants to go the endurance route, sweet, you can. But put some strength training in there. You don't have to put it your mainstay, but you want to have a strong, resilient body regardless of where you are in your life.

But for the most part, you want to find a goal and the basic idea of periodization of both cardiovascular and strength. is beneficial. If you're someone who wants to go the endurance route, sweet, you can. But put some strength training in there. You don't have to put it your mainstay, but you want to have a strong, resilient body regardless of where you are in your life.

So as we feed forward and see at the onset of puberty what happens is there's another divergence where with what we call the epigenetic exposure or the situational change that happens with estrogen, progesterone, to some extent testosterone in girls, we have a change in all of our biomechanics. So our center of gravity goes from being up in the chest area down to the hip area.

So as we feed forward and see at the onset of puberty what happens is there's another divergence where with what we call the epigenetic exposure or the situational change that happens with estrogen, progesterone, to some extent testosterone in girls, we have a change in all of our biomechanics. So our center of gravity goes from being up in the chest area down to the hip area.

And you can pepper it in your 20s and your 30s with different adventures.

And you can pepper it in your 20s and your 30s with different adventures.

My habits. Well, full disclosure, I tried my very first high rocks on Sunday here in Auckland. Yeah. Was it good? It was super fun. Yeah, it was super fun. Super hot. I did end up tearing my meniscus.

My habits. Well, full disclosure, I tried my very first high rocks on Sunday here in Auckland. Yeah. Was it good? It was super fun. Yeah, it was super fun. Super hot. I did end up tearing my meniscus.

Yeah. And I'll share the story is I was not strong enough in the posterior chain to do the sled pull and then run. And I went into it after being in the States under a high amount of stress and not having been able to train on the sled very much. I came back. I had 10 days before the race. So that's my full disclosure. But I'm now at a point where it's all right.

Yeah. And I'll share the story is I was not strong enough in the posterior chain to do the sled pull and then run. And I went into it after being in the States under a high amount of stress and not having been able to train on the sled very much. I came back. I had 10 days before the race. So that's my full disclosure. But I'm now at a point where it's all right.

No, I haven't seen a sports doc or surgeon yet. So I'm like, I'm doing all the rehab things that I know. And I have to get on a plane next week and fly to the States and be gone for a month. So we'll see what happens. I am going Houston and then Boston, Boston, D.C., D.C., Denver, Denver, L.A., L.A., San Francisco.

No, I haven't seen a sports doc or surgeon yet. So I'm like, I'm doing all the rehab things that I know. And I have to get on a plane next week and fly to the States and be gone for a month. So we'll see what happens. I am going Houston and then Boston, Boston, D.C., D.C., Denver, Denver, L.A., L.A., San Francisco.

No, I wish. It's not vacation. Doing some podcasts and some board meetings and some filming for a project and looking for houses.

No, I wish. It's not vacation. Doing some podcasts and some board meetings and some filming for a project and looking for houses.

Because the L.A. trip was really fully booked until someone just canceled. So that's why we're going to try to see what we can do when I'm there in L.A. Okay, perfect.

Because the L.A. trip was really fully booked until someone just canceled. So that's why we're going to try to see what we can do when I'm there in L.A. Okay, perfect.

My habits. Yeah. So I am a kind of person that needs to get up before anyone else in the household so I can have 10 to 15 minutes of absolute no noise because that's how I can reset and recenter. Then I'd like to do some training, either go for a swim in the pool or the ocean. A couple of days a week. Strength training, definitely three to four times a week.

My habits. Yeah. So I am a kind of person that needs to get up before anyone else in the household so I can have 10 to 15 minutes of absolute no noise because that's how I can reset and recenter. Then I'd like to do some training, either go for a swim in the pool or the ocean. A couple of days a week. Strength training, definitely three to four times a week.

After training, come home, have food, do the email thing, go through all the meetings, have some quiet time, get some work done. Then my daughter comes home from school. We do some stuff and I do some more work. Then I take the dog for a walk, make dinner, have dinner, have conversations and maybe read with my daughter. And then I try to be in bed by 9.30, 10 o'clock.

After training, come home, have food, do the email thing, go through all the meetings, have some quiet time, get some work done. Then my daughter comes home from school. We do some stuff and I do some more work. Then I take the dog for a walk, make dinner, have dinner, have conversations and maybe read with my daughter. And then I try to be in bed by 9.30, 10 o'clock.

I get up maybe 6.30, 7, but I'm also the most fatigued person at the end of the day and I want to go to bed before everyone else. But I make a priority. I'm like, I need to go to sleep now and I need to sleep. I might do some reading before falling asleep, make sure it's a cool, dark room because I don't like to be hot when I'm sleeping.

I get up maybe 6.30, 7, but I'm also the most fatigued person at the end of the day and I want to go to bed before everyone else. But I make a priority. I'm like, I need to go to sleep now and I need to sleep. I might do some reading before falling asleep, make sure it's a cool, dark room because I don't like to be hot when I'm sleeping.

and I get very agitated if my sleep is disrupted because I'm like, I need sleep. I need sleep.

and I get very agitated if my sleep is disrupted because I'm like, I need sleep. I need sleep.

No, I don't. I advise people who do train. And every once in a while, I'll take someone on, especially if it's a really complex, like sticky moment where people are trying to do all the things and they're stuck. I wish I had the bandwidth to be able to get out there on boots on the ground to help more people on individual basis. But there's only one of me at the moment.

No, I don't. I advise people who do train. And every once in a while, I'll take someone on, especially if it's a really complex, like sticky moment where people are trying to do all the things and they're stuck. I wish I had the bandwidth to be able to get out there on boots on the ground to help more people on individual basis. But there's only one of me at the moment.

Our hips widen, our shoulder girdle widens, but we're not told about this. So we feel ungangly in our bodies. We aren't taught how to run again, how to jump, how to swing, how to land or any of those things. They're just, well, you are at this point, you get your period. We know girls drop out of sport, but it has to do with the fact that the actual biomechanics of the body have changed.

Our hips widen, our shoulder girdle widens, but we're not told about this. So we feel ungangly in our bodies. We aren't taught how to run again, how to jump, how to swing, how to land or any of those things. They're just, well, you are at this point, you get your period. We know girls drop out of sport, but it has to do with the fact that the actual biomechanics of the body have changed.

myth trend out there yeah i think the most underrated is the intuition i think people have forgotten what it feels like to sleep well to eat well to have energy because we've been told by wearables what we're supposed to be feeling and what we're supposed to be doing and people have lost that connection to themselves

myth trend out there yeah i think the most underrated is the intuition i think people have forgotten what it feels like to sleep well to eat well to have energy because we've been told by wearables what we're supposed to be feeling and what we're supposed to be doing and people have lost that connection to themselves

So that intuition of actually understanding our body and using things like rating a perceived exertion without any of the tools, I think that's one of the most underrated, but one of the most effective means of invoking change. When I look on the other end of things, it's all those top end, like the 1% that you should be looking at, like peptides or fasting. Let's just bring it back to basics.

So that intuition of actually understanding our body and using things like rating a perceived exertion without any of the tools, I think that's one of the most underrated, but one of the most effective means of invoking change. When I look on the other end of things, it's all those top end, like the 1% that you should be looking at, like peptides or fasting. Let's just bring it back to basics.

How are you eating? What are you eating? When are you eating? How are you sleeping? It's like the big four is the mindfulness, the sleep, the physical activity, and the nutrition. If we focus on those, then we can start to really see change.

How are you eating? What are you eating? When are you eating? How are you sleeping? It's like the big four is the mindfulness, the sleep, the physical activity, and the nutrition. If we focus on those, then we can start to really see change.

It's when we start going outside the box and really focusing on all the biohacking and the bro science that's out there is when we start to lose sight of where we should be and get into the overrated trends that tend to take over everybody's mentality.

It's when we start going outside the box and really focusing on all the biohacking and the bro science that's out there is when we start to lose sight of where we should be and get into the overrated trends that tend to take over everybody's mentality.

Saunas, I love. I started as an environmental exercise physiologist. So I look at how the heat can invoke positive change on the body. It doesn't have to be a large dose. It could be 10 to 15 minutes in a finished sauna three times a week because we start to see massive cardiovascular improvements, blood pressure improvements included in that, metabolic changes.

Saunas, I love. I started as an environmental exercise physiologist. So I look at how the heat can invoke positive change on the body. It doesn't have to be a large dose. It could be 10 to 15 minutes in a finished sauna three times a week because we start to see massive cardiovascular improvements, blood pressure improvements included in that, metabolic changes.

We have better blood glucose control. We have better gut health, brain health. So many great things happen with the heat. When we think about cold plunge for women, it's cool water. It's around 15 degrees Celsius, which is around that 56, 57 degree Fahrenheit mark. Ice is too cold and we don't get the same kind of response that men do when we get into ice.

We have better blood glucose control. We have better gut health, brain health. So many great things happen with the heat. When we think about cold plunge for women, it's cool water. It's around 15 degrees Celsius, which is around that 56, 57 degree Fahrenheit mark. Ice is too cold and we don't get the same kind of response that men do when we get into ice.

It's too strong of a stress and the body rebounds with too much sympathetic drive. too much constriction, where if it's cool water, we're going to invoke initially a vagal response, which is that, and then the body's going to get that more parasympathetic relaxation response that we're looking for, for cold plunge.

It's too strong of a stress and the body rebounds with too much sympathetic drive. too much constriction, where if it's cool water, we're going to invoke initially a vagal response, which is that, and then the body's going to get that more parasympathetic relaxation response that we're looking for, for cold plunge.

So if you're a woman, you're jumping in. Yeah. So you're jumping into that icy cold water and you're getting that shock. And that shock is a sympathetic so that you have your flight or fight sensation, which is your sympathetic drive. And you have that deep relaxation, which is your parasympathetic drive.

So if you're a woman, you're jumping in. Yeah. So you're jumping into that icy cold water and you're getting that shock. And that shock is a sympathetic so that you have your flight or fight sensation, which is your sympathetic drive. And you have that deep relaxation, which is your parasympathetic drive.

For women, we get that shock and that sympathetic drive, which increases cortisol, increases our blood glucose and our free fatty acids because the body's like, ah, what is this incredible shock? I've got to get out and run away. For cool water, it's not as intense. So you don't get that sympathetic. You get the initial, and then the body's like, okay, I can deal with this.

For women, we get that shock and that sympathetic drive, which increases cortisol, increases our blood glucose and our free fatty acids because the body's like, ah, what is this incredible shock? I've got to get out and run away. For cool water, it's not as intense. So you don't get that sympathetic. You get the initial, and then the body's like, okay, I can deal with this.

I'm going to do some vasoconstriction. I'm going to put more blood sugar to the brain so that the brain understands what's going on and stimulates what we call the vagal nerve. So the vagal nerve is what that parasympathetic nervous system is attached to. So it invokes that calming and you can stay in it, take some deep breaths.

I'm going to do some vasoconstriction. I'm going to put more blood sugar to the brain so that the brain understands what's going on and stimulates what we call the vagal nerve. So the vagal nerve is what that parasympathetic nervous system is attached to. So it invokes that calming and you can stay in it, take some deep breaths.

So when we start looking at all of these trends that are out there and about doing like zone two work and improving our aerobic capacity and trying to do ketogenic diet for improving our fat burning capacity, all that's based on male data. Because being born that XX, you already have all of that capacity.

So when we start looking at all of these trends that are out there and about doing like zone two work and improving our aerobic capacity and trying to do ketogenic diet for improving our fat burning capacity, all that's based on male data. Because being born that XX, you already have all of that capacity.

But that said, heat does so much more for a woman's body than cold plunge. So if we're looking for increased parasympathetic drive, we're looking for better metabolic control, we're getting better hormonal control, it's all instigated by sauna work, not by cold plunge.

But that said, heat does so much more for a woman's body than cold plunge. So if we're looking for increased parasympathetic drive, we're looking for better metabolic control, we're getting better hormonal control, it's all instigated by sauna work, not by cold plunge.

So the thing with the infrared is it really bypasses when the initial thermoregulation control centers. If you get to a point where it's hot enough and you get that sweat onset and you feel really uncomfortable, then you're hot enough. But you don't have to like stay in there for a half an hour or more being uncomfortable. You bring it up to your sweat response and then you can get out.

So the thing with the infrared is it really bypasses when the initial thermoregulation control centers. If you get to a point where it's hot enough and you get that sweat onset and you feel really uncomfortable, then you're hot enough. But you don't have to like stay in there for a half an hour or more being uncomfortable. You bring it up to your sweat response and then you can get out.

And I think that's what people don't like. They're like, oh, I get an infrared and I get warm, but I don't sweat. I'm like, but you need that. You need that uncomfortable heat and uncomfortable sweating to invoke the change.

And I think that's what people don't like. They're like, oh, I get an infrared and I get warm, but I don't sweat. I'm like, but you need that. You need that uncomfortable heat and uncomfortable sweating to invoke the change.

Yeah, my stepdad has one, but we have a finish sauna. So I use our finish and then I go to my parents' house and I'm like, I'm freezing in your sauna.

Yeah, my stepdad has one, but we have a finish sauna. So I use our finish and then I go to my parents' house and I'm like, I'm freezing in your sauna.

Red. Yeah. Maybe you put on one of those sauna suits they sell in like Kmart or Walmart and you wear the sauna suit in your sauna.

Red. Yeah. Maybe you put on one of those sauna suits they sell in like Kmart or Walmart and you wear the sauna suit in your sauna.

Get a new sauna. Yeah. Do that. That's the best way to do it. Yeah.

Get a new sauna. Yeah. Do that. That's the best way to do it. Yeah.

Yeah, me too. It's great to see you. It's great to see you. And yeah, have a great day and give LA hugs for me.

Yeah, me too. It's great to see you. It's great to see you. And yeah, have a great day and give LA hugs for me.

What we need to work on throughout our entire life is working on that power base and the fast twitch. And I say that because we want to be able to produce power. We want to be able to run fast, to jump, to land, to have good coordination. But more than that, when we look at longevity and we see this is really important in peri and postmenopausal that we keep producing lactate for brain health.

What we need to work on throughout our entire life is working on that power base and the fast twitch. And I say that because we want to be able to produce power. We want to be able to run fast, to jump, to land, to have good coordination. But more than that, when we look at longevity and we see this is really important in peri and postmenopausal that we keep producing lactate for brain health.

The second edition that was just released last year.

The second edition that was just released last year.

And then we have Next Level that is specific for peri and postmenopause. Oh, perfect. Perfect.

And then we have Next Level that is specific for peri and postmenopause. Oh, perfect. Perfect.

Yeah, perfect.

Yeah, perfect.

Yeah, it'll get there. It's just, there's no pain. It just catches. So there's instability, but no pain. I'll take that.

Yeah, it'll get there. It's just, there's no pain. It just catches. So there's instability, but no pain. I'll take that.

I'm not running. I went for a swim this morning.

I'm not running. I went for a swim this morning.

It was a happy place, but yeah.

It was a happy place, but yeah.

Yes.

Yes.

Because if we keep producing lactate from that fast twitch and that higher intensity work that we've been trying to build throughout our life, we are slowing the rate and the risk for Alzheimer's and dementia. So when we see that sex difference in Alzheimer's and dementia, it comes down to the type of muscle fibers and the metabolism that we've been exposed to throughout our life.

Because if we keep producing lactate from that fast twitch and that higher intensity work that we've been trying to build throughout our life, we are slowing the rate and the risk for Alzheimer's and dementia. So when we see that sex difference in Alzheimer's and dementia, it comes down to the type of muscle fibers and the metabolism that we've been exposed to throughout our life.

So that's why it's like, okay, if we look from birth all the way through to the end of life, There are unique things that women need to do to keep progressing and improving their health for longevity and performance, whereas men are more of a linear because they don't have all of these changes that women have with regards to biomechanics and hormone exposure.

So that's why it's like, okay, if we look from birth all the way through to the end of life, There are unique things that women need to do to keep progressing and improving their health for longevity and performance, whereas men are more of a linear because they don't have all of these changes that women have with regards to biomechanics and hormone exposure.

So, of course, it makes sense that you see all this data that comes out for men and men are scribing these protocols and they're improving, that when you take that and put it into certain points within a woman's life, they're not going to respond the same way because physiologically and biomechanically, they are not the same as where that data originated from.

So, of course, it makes sense that you see all this data that comes out for men and men are scribing these protocols and they're improving, that when you take that and put it into certain points within a woman's life, they're not going to respond the same way because physiologically and biomechanically, they are not the same as where that data originated from.

So women are more quad dominant, just the way our posture is and our center of gravity. So this already predisposes us to change of direction injury, soft tissue injury. That's part of the reason why we see a greater predisposition in ACL injury, because we don't have the hamstring strength to counter some of those cutting motions that causes an ACL tear.

So women are more quad dominant, just the way our posture is and our center of gravity. So this already predisposes us to change of direction injury, soft tissue injury. That's part of the reason why we see a greater predisposition in ACL injury, because we don't have the hamstring strength to counter some of those cutting motions that causes an ACL tear.

So when we're looking at that and what we need to do is we need to put that focus away from the knee and the lunge and all that quad dominant type work, put it posterior. So you're looking at developing the glutes and the hamstrings, a lot of extension work. And we see that when women start to do that, they reduce their injury risk and they have better posture and cutting motion.

So when we're looking at that and what we need to do is we need to put that focus away from the knee and the lunge and all that quad dominant type work, put it posterior. So you're looking at developing the glutes and the hamstrings, a lot of extension work. And we see that when women start to do that, they reduce their injury risk and they have better posture and cutting motion.

And when we're looking at things like what FIFAS put out for warm-up, it's all about warming up the posterior chain and trying to get those muscles firing as a counteract to some of those cutting motions that predispose women to ligamental tears. We also see that as we get into perimenopause, there is a definitive increase in plantar fascia issues and frozen shoulder or bursts in your shoulder.

And when we're looking at things like what FIFAS put out for warm-up, it's all about warming up the posterior chain and trying to get those muscles firing as a counteract to some of those cutting motions that predispose women to ligamental tears. We also see that as we get into perimenopause, there is a definitive increase in plantar fascia issues and frozen shoulder or bursts in your shoulder.

And that has to do with the changing of the tensile strength in the ligaments as well as a weakening in the muscle contraction. So again, we're looking at what do we need to do to prevent that. We need to keep the strengthening and the faster type power-based action to create an environment that reduces injury, reduces the inflammation of the tendons, and allows better range of motion.

And that has to do with the changing of the tensile strength in the ligaments as well as a weakening in the muscle contraction. So again, we're looking at what do we need to do to prevent that. We need to keep the strengthening and the faster type power-based action to create an environment that reduces injury, reduces the inflammation of the tendons, and allows better range of motion.

So when we look at men who are in their 40s, rarely do we hear about a plantar fascia issue. You look at women in their 40s, it's one of the leading issues that make them go see a physical therapist or an osteo or a chiro. It's an inherent sex difference, right? I can see you're like, you've probably experienced it.

So when we look at men who are in their 40s, rarely do we hear about a plantar fascia issue. You look at women in their 40s, it's one of the leading issues that make them go see a physical therapist or an osteo or a chiro. It's an inherent sex difference, right? I can see you're like, you've probably experienced it.

Yeah, so frozen shoulder has to do with we have a wider shoulder girdle because our hips have widened. But if you think about all the metrics that we've taught to do push-ups, pull-ups, they're all in a grip strength or a grip width that's based on male data.

Yeah, so frozen shoulder has to do with we have a wider shoulder girdle because our hips have widened. But if you think about all the metrics that we've taught to do push-ups, pull-ups, they're all in a grip strength or a grip width that's based on male data.

male physiology because you know if you go to do a pull-up and you're a bit wider like no more narrow so it puts a lot of strain where it shouldn't same with push-ups they're trying to teach you to be really tight and use more tricep but our shoulders as women we need to be wider so it's just that inherent that we're and we tend to like when we get our 40s we're like okay yeah i really i most of us have a challenge and we want to accomplish so it could be a push-up or pull-up or we start doing more up

male physiology because you know if you go to do a pull-up and you're a bit wider like no more narrow so it puts a lot of strain where it shouldn't same with push-ups they're trying to teach you to be really tight and use more tricep but our shoulders as women we need to be wider so it's just that inherent that we're and we tend to like when we get our 40s we're like okay yeah i really i most of us have a challenge and we want to accomplish so it could be a push-up or pull-up or we start doing more up

and push-pull motions, and even like lifting things overhead, groceries and all that kind of stuff. It's just the mechanics that we are not taught how to actually maximize with our wider shoulders. And you couple that with changes in our estrogen-progesterone ratio, which changes tensile strength and the actual texture kind of of our tendons and our bursa, and it just comes on.

and push-pull motions, and even like lifting things overhead, groceries and all that kind of stuff. It's just the mechanics that we are not taught how to actually maximize with our wider shoulders. And you couple that with changes in our estrogen-progesterone ratio, which changes tensile strength and the actual texture kind of of our tendons and our bursa, and it just comes on.

So I'm always trying to reteach from a young age From puberty onward, how we move in these new mechanics to reduce injury risk at the onset of puberty, but also as we get older into peri and postmenopause.

So I'm always trying to reteach from a young age From puberty onward, how we move in these new mechanics to reduce injury risk at the onset of puberty, but also as we get older into peri and postmenopause.

So a lot of it is you're dropping your traps and you're pulling back. So you're doing a lot of rhomboid work. You're also looking at where you're placing to be able to use more of your back muscles when you're doing a push-up. Also back muscles when using a pull-up instead of relying on the shoulders. And the same when you go to lift something up.

So a lot of it is you're dropping your traps and you're pulling back. So you're doing a lot of rhomboid work. You're also looking at where you're placing to be able to use more of your back muscles when you're doing a push-up. Also back muscles when using a pull-up instead of relying on the shoulders. And the same when you go to lift something up.

Most of the time we're lifting, we're hitching our shoulders. If we're thinking about dropping our traps and we're using our back muscles to pick something up and then extending through the hips to lift it up, we're reducing the load in our shoulders and in that rotation. which reduces the whole onset of injury or soft tissue damage that can perpetuate injury.

Most of the time we're lifting, we're hitching our shoulders. If we're thinking about dropping our traps and we're using our back muscles to pick something up and then extending through the hips to lift it up, we're reducing the load in our shoulders and in that rotation. which reduces the whole onset of injury or soft tissue damage that can perpetuate injury.

All the glute work where you're thinking about deadlifts, you're thinking about Romanian deadlifts, you're thinking about hip or glute bridges, hip thrusts, all of those things, right? And really focusing on getting the hips strong. And a lot of other things that can perpetuate it is we have weak and tight hip flexors.

All the glute work where you're thinking about deadlifts, you're thinking about Romanian deadlifts, you're thinking about hip or glute bridges, hip thrusts, all of those things, right? And really focusing on getting the hips strong. And a lot of other things that can perpetuate it is we have weak and tight hip flexors.

So really working on developing that hip flexor strength so we can lift the hip and the leg up and over instead of stumbling.

So really working on developing that hip flexor strength so we can lift the hip and the leg up and over instead of stumbling.

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, absolutely. And it's scary because the conversation has not been out there. And now it's a buzzword and everybody's grabbing onto it. And there's a lot of misinformation that's being spread. And...

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, absolutely. And it's scary because the conversation has not been out there. And now it's a buzzword and everybody's grabbing onto it. And there's a lot of misinformation that's being spread. And...

from a scientific point of view where I've been in the whole perimenopause, menopause research world for 15 or so years to all of a sudden see the conversation out there and people are misconstruing a lot of the research or they're in one camp bucket of pharmaceuticals or one camp bucket of suffering through it and none of it's actually right. And then there's just so much, it's just so noisy.

from a scientific point of view where I've been in the whole perimenopause, menopause research world for 15 or so years to all of a sudden see the conversation out there and people are misconstruing a lot of the research or they're in one camp bucket of pharmaceuticals or one camp bucket of suffering through it and none of it's actually right. And then there's just so much, it's just so noisy.

So I'm like trying to cut through the noise and go, okay, ask me what you want to know and we're going to unpack it for you.

So I'm like trying to cut through the noise and go, okay, ask me what you want to know and we're going to unpack it for you.

Exactly. Exactly. That's it. Yeah. And I'm finding that a lot of the and I don't want to put people on the bus, but unfortunately, those with some of the loudest microphones tend to not stay in their lane. And what I mean by that is like if you're an endocrinologist or you're a medical specialist and you understand things like hormone therapy, then talk about that.

Exactly. Exactly. That's it. Yeah. And I'm finding that a lot of the and I don't want to put people on the bus, but unfortunately, those with some of the loudest microphones tend to not stay in their lane. And what I mean by that is like if you're an endocrinologist or you're a medical specialist and you understand things like hormone therapy, then talk about that.

If you're someone who's like me, who's an exercise physiologist and a nutrition scientist and understands that and environmental stress, I talk about that. I can give a high touch on hormone therapy, but I'm not going to be a definitive person on that because that is not my area.

If you're someone who's like me, who's an exercise physiologist and a nutrition scientist and understands that and environmental stress, I talk about that. I can give a high touch on hormone therapy, but I'm not going to be a definitive person on that because that is not my area.

I'm going to refer you to Jen Gunter or Mary Claire or some of the other experts that are out there who actually know the nuances of hormone hormone therapy and how it can be applied to you as an individual.

I'm going to refer you to Jen Gunter or Mary Claire or some of the other experts that are out there who actually know the nuances of hormone hormone therapy and how it can be applied to you as an individual.

So that's part of the confusion, too, because everyone's kind of in their silo and trying to be an expert in everything instead of saying, you know what, this is my lane and these are the things that I know. And I can talk at a high point on some of the things I don't know. But I really want you to seek out these experts who know what it is in that lane.

So that's part of the confusion, too, because everyone's kind of in their silo and trying to be an expert in everything instead of saying, you know what, this is my lane and these are the things that I know. And I can talk at a high point on some of the things I don't know. But I really want you to seek out these experts who know what it is in that lane.

So as a physiologist, I'm going to explain what's happening on the undercurrent of everything. So we look at estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and they affect every system of the body.

So as a physiologist, I'm going to explain what's happening on the undercurrent of everything. So we look at estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and they affect every system of the body.

So when we start losing the higher doses and pulses of estrogen, and we have more and more anovulatory cycles, so we don't necessarily produce progesterone, every system gets affected, specifically bone and muscle. So we'll have women who are complaining about waking up feeling squishy overnight and they can't even open like the jar of pickles because they don't have the strength.

And they're like, what's happened? That's an estrogen effect. Because when you look at how estrogen affects skeletal muscle and the feedback mechanism for strength and power development, it's in every part. It's on the satellite cell to develop more muscle fibers. It's on the nerve endings to be able to say, yep, let's create a really fast nerve conduction mechanism.

across the gap junction to be able to fire a lot of fibers to create a strong contraction. And it's also part of the contractile proteins itself to be able to grab together to create a strong contraction. So when you lose estrogen, you're losing the impetus for those three main points of strength and lean mass development. So when I start explaining this, people are like, shit, now what do I do?

It's like, okay, well, now we want to look at a nervous system response. Because if we can find an external stress that's going to create the same cascade feedback mechanisms that estrogen did, then we can keep progressing. And that is strength training. But it's not lightweight, going to failure type stuff.

We have to take a page out of the power-based work where we're looking at zero to six reps. We're doing heavy loads. We have lots of recovery between those loads because we're trying to really stimulate the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system to say, you know what?

I've got to have a lot of muscle fibers and I need to be able to recruit them quickly to have a very strong contraction to withstand that stress and load. So now we can build lean mass, strength and power without estrogen.

So when we're looking at perimenopause, we have to look at all the systems that are being affected and we have to look at that external stress to apply to the body to create the adaptations that we want. So when we look at it, it's all about the intensity and the quality of the work. It's not about volume.

So like I said earlier, where zone two is not really appropriate for women, at this point, it doesn't really do much for women at all. Because when you take away our sex hormones, we're really endurant. We're really fatigue resistant. We burn a lot of fat. So we have to look at how do we polarize it. We want to do some true high intensity work.

So that's 30 seconds or less, as fast and hard as you can go with two to three minutes recovery to have full recovery to be able to do it again. Might do that two or three times. Or we do true high intensity interval training.

And that is a little bit lower intensity and a little bit longer, but you're still really polarizing where when you go to do your interval, you're doing it at the intensity you're supposed to. And the recovery, you're fully recovering so that you can hit that intensity again. So the three big things there are proper strength training. and the intensity of your sprint or high intensity work.

So like I said, it's not a lot of volume, it's the quality. Because each one of those factors affects the body in a way that will cause positive change. So strength, like I said, you know, you're going to get that central nervous system response.

to build bone and muscle when we're looking at that high intensity interval training which is not full intensity but maybe 80 percent this is causes more of a cardiovascular and a blood glucose improvement and then when we're doing that high high intensity sprint interval work It causes a cascade of what we call myokines.

Yeah. So I started as an athlete and an academic and an academic in sports science and nutrition. And all the things that we are learning in class didn't really apply to me as an athlete or my teammates. So that really started the question of what are we doing? And as you started digging in, realizing that there really wasn't very much research on women.

So these are little hormone and feedback molecules that go from the skeletal muscle to the liver and the storage area of body fat and says, you know what? We don't need to store body fat. We don't need to take these circulating molecules. fatty acids and make them visceral fat. We need to use them and store them in really active tissue.

So the aspect of doing those three things is the mainstay during perimenopause is to benefit body composition, our metabolic health, our cardiovascular health, and then most importantly, our brain health. Because if we're doing strength training and creating neural pathway plasticity, we're doing lactate training to improve brain metabolism.

Then again, we are able to support the brain when it is starting to lose the receptor sensitivity of estrogen, progesterone, because we don't have those sex hormones anymore.

When you look at those classes, it feeds into the mentality that we've grown up with where you have to feel smashed, absolutely smashed and burnt out when you finish a class to make it worth anything because it's about the, quote, calorie burn and the smash aspect. I think Orange Theory even has splat points or something like that, trying to navigate how hard it is.

But the length of those classes and the speed at which those movements are done is really a precursor for injury with how fast the movements are underweight. And you can't really recover well enough to hit that 80 plus percent for your interval. Because if you're looking at a 45 to an hour long class, you cannot hold high intensity for that long. That puts you in moderate intensity.

Now, the problem with moderate intensity is our bodies, when we're perimenopausal, are already under a significant amount of sympathetic stress. So this means we're tired but wired. We have a really difficult time coming down from that anxiety and that boredom. awakeness, flight or fight sensation, and moderate intensity perpetuates that.

When we look at what it does from a metabolic standpoint, it doesn't have a post-exercise response that true high intensity does of increasing growth hormone and testosterone that drops cortisol. So when we're doing this moderate intensity stuff, we end up with a higher circulating amount of cortisol, which becomes our new baseline. And we don't get any of the metabolic change.

We're not going to see a dissipation of our minnow bellies or visceral fat. We're going to see an increase in that. We're going to be completely tired all the time, which means we are not sleeping well. And if you can't sleep well, you're not going to invoke any change. So when we're looking at that moderate intensity work that people feel is high intensity, I feel like it's such a disservice.

And even when you're looking at the textbooks and textbook pictures of representation, they're all male, male bodies. So that was so many decades ago. And ever since then, I've been really trying to dig into both research and the application of research to get women to understand that their bodies are different. We have different physiology from birth. We have hormone fluctuations.

And what makes me angry about these classes is that they are really marketing to women 40 plus. And I'm like, this is just not appropriate. These women are coming, wanting help. They want to do some strength training. And the protocols you're throwing in there are specific for men. And you're not looking at what's happening when women hit 40 onwards. So when we talk about true high intensity,

We look at taking a page out of High Rocks or CrossFit where they're doing every minute on the minute for four minutes and then one minute full recovery. And you might do two or three rounds of that. And that is true high intensity work because each minute you're going to go as hard as you can. It might be 40 or 50 seconds, 20 seconds to get to the next one.

Then you do that four times in a full minute to like come down. Maybe it's two minutes to come down. Repeat that again and maybe a third time. So all up, it's 20 minutes of work. And that is true high intensity work.

It wouldn't necessarily make them worse off as you're looking at it, comparing to someone who's just doing low intensity work all the time. But what happens in those classes and low intensity or sitting around is there's a really high incidence of being skinny fat. So that means you might look lean, but you don't have a lot of really good quality lean mass and you have low bone density.

There are so many women in the past about six months that have come saying, I don't understand what's going on. I got my DEXA scan and I go to these classes. I go to boot camp. I go to Les Mills. I go to Orange Theory. I'm osteopenic and I have a very high amount of visceral fat. I'm like, okay, well, there's two things. One, you're probably not eating enough.

And two, you're putting yourself under this moderate intensity load almost every day and Your body has no chance to recover and polarize and understand that it needs to step up its game to be able to answer the challenge of exercise because it's not getting the feedback to actually adapt. It's getting the feedback to stay tired but wired and in a stressed state like you have to run from a bear.

Sure. Yeah, no. I get this in too. Because of the weighted vest. So if we look at the weighted vest, that changes your biomechanics. Because like I was saying earlier, our center of gravity is down in our hips. So if you're putting a weighted vest on, you're putting all the weight up here, which is not where our center of gravity is. So that changes your biomechanics.

And this is why you see a lot of women are like, oh, I've got a tendon issue. I've got an Achilles issue, which then develops into plantar fascia problems. It would be better to get on that treadmill without the weighted vest, but holding two heavy dumbbells and trying to do farmer's carry five minutes on, two minutes off on that incline.

So you're getting strength, high intensity work, and then some recovery in between.

And these affect every system of the body. And we respond to training differently than men. We respond to stress differently than men. And the more we dig into it, the more we realize there's a lot of research to be done. So the research that we do have, I'm really adamant about getting it out so women can be empowered to understand what is going on.

Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.

Yeah. So polarized means that you go top end capacity and recovery is really low. So when you first start doing high intensity work, you might find you need more recovery in order to hit that top end capacity. And that's fine. Women underestimate recovery all of the time.

So polarized means that you're staying out of that middle zone so you can go super hard when you need to and you recover super easy. So we look at the moderate intensity stuff as it's too hard to be easy and it's too easy to be hard to invoke change. Stay out of that. You want to be hard to invoke change and you want to go easy to recover so that you can go hard again.

Bare minimum, we see two sprint interval sessions or one sprint and one high intensity session and three lifting sessions a week. But you can combine the sprint and the lifting for one day in the gym. So you might do lower body posterior chain work. We're doing hip thrusts and deadlifts. And then we finish off with some sprints on the bike. And then you're done and dusted.

Or maybe you do box jumps instead of sprints on the bike as your high-intensity work, and then you're done and dusted. So like I was saying earlier, it's about the quality of the work that you're doing rather than the volume of the work that you're doing.

When we look at how bones respond to stress, we need multidirectional stress to invoke actual bone regeneration and increasing our bone density. Jumping does that because you're landing and it's complete... stress in all the different planes that go up through the skeletal system, which then causes a cascade response of I need to be stronger through the entire bone.

If we look at just running, it's very uni-planar and it doesn't cause that multi-directional stress. We look at walking, it doesn't either. Strength training does, but not to the extent of jump training. So if people can't jump, strength training is going to help improve bone density, especially the heavier work that you should be doing. But just plain running doesn't do it.

You can do that. When we're looking specifically at building bone, it's a landing, not how we've been taught with soft knees, but absorbing the impact through our bones. We're not jumping really high.

We might be on a low box and jumping off as a depth jump and landing kind of flat footed hard or doing pogo, pogo jumping where you're flat footed and absorbing the impact through your skeletal system. And it only takes 10 minutes, three times a week at the most to invoke change.

Because face it, we put as much work into our training and we take time out of our day to really work on our health and well-being. So it should be appropriate for us. We shouldn't be fighting the battle against our own bodies because of protocols based on male data.

but you're not getting the impact from the ground. Because our body moves when it hits the ground, the ground doesn't move. Whereas the trampoline, it moves. So you're not getting the same kind of reactive force through the skeletal system.

If I were to use the buzzwords of fasting, I would say you do your 12-hour overnight fast. That's what you do for fasting. But when we look at it from a hormonal response, reducing stress, improving body composition, brain health, all the things that people want with fasting, for women, we need to eat within a half an hour of waking up because we have a cortisol peak and we need to drop that peak.

We also see from circadian research that fueling throughout the day improves sleep, but it also improves the feedback for increasing lean mass development and dropping body fat. So when we have a big hole of no food and what happens for the most part is women will start a fast and they'll try to hold their fast till noon and then they end up working out fasted.

And the brain, especially the hypothalamus, is like, what's happening here? There's no fuel for this exercise. I'm going to start breaking down lean mass because I need some amino acids for some fuel. And I can't support really metabolically active tissue when there's no fuel coming in.

So when we start looking at what's the best way to counter the body comp changes that are happening in perimenopause... train smart, eat. Eat during the day. Stop eating after dinner so you don't have nighttime snacks and making sure that two to three hours before you go to bed was your last meal so that you can get into a deep, reparative sleep.

And I know sleep is fleeting for lots of people in perimenopause. So we need to work on the sleep hygiene and maybe it's adding supplements like apigenin and L-theanine. Maybe it's cycling progesterone to help with sleep so that you do get into that deep parasympathetic activation so that your body knows that it can change body comp.

Because you cannot create change without enough calories and without good sleep.

So that's my mission across the lifespan is to get women from puberty all the way through postmenopause up to speed about what their bodies are doing and how they can modify or alter what they're doing to get the best benefits.

Absolutely. And from a physiological perspective, women have two areas in the hypothalamus that is very sensitive to nutrient density. The two areas are the arc areas, and we have what we call cispeptin neurons that get expressed. When we don't have enough food coming in, we don't have all those pepton neurons being expressed. So we have a hit on our entire endocrine system.

So that's not just estrogen and progesterone. It's also things like thyroid and our appetite hormones. Men have one area. So their sensitivity to nutrition density is not nearly there. as sensitive as it is for women. And I'd like to scope it down to calories per kilogram of fat-free mass.

Women need a bare minimum of 35 calories per kilogram of fat-free mass to be able to maintain some endocrine health. Ideally, you want to see people up to 40 for minutes 15. When you start to drop below that 35 for women, we start to see a lot of subclinical disturbance in endocrine and sleep and body comp. For men... Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, for sure. I like to kind of start this conversation when we look at the sex differences that exist at birth. So that's like without our hormone fluctuations from our menstrual cycle and stuff. So when we look at XX versus XY, because that's the primary area of research that we have. Very binary, but that's all we have at the moment.

,,,,,

If you are born XX, then you have more endurant type fibers. So your slow twitch, your oxidative, very aerobic type fibers. And with that comes a lot of mitochondria work. So that means your body's really able to take fatty acids and use it, use oxygen and go long and slow.

Yeah, part of it's misinformation and part of it is people become inherently lazy and don't want to... And I say that and I'll take full ownership of that statement. Because when we look at exercise, regardless of intensity, duration, mode, whatever it is, it's a super powerful stress that gets put on the body and the body responds in kind.

When we look at XY, they're born with more of the fast-twitch glycolytic power-based fibers, so good at speed, good at quick reaction time, good at doing super high-intensity work, and they have to work on developing that aerobic system.

So yes, you're going to have inflammation after exercise, but the subsequent response is your body upregulates its anti... inflammatory and antioxidative responses. So the chronic use of exercise improves oxidation and inflammation. It also improves autophagy.

So all the things that people are talking about by using pharmaceuticals for longevity or trying to biohack by using microdoses of this and peptides and stuff, you can use exercise. And it's just understanding what kind and dosage. It's not the blanket ACSM 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity, which is based on male data, right? So we have to be very nuanced in what we're talking about.

You have to be very dedicated to the strength training and eating protein. Because when we look at protein, protein and a high protein diet induces satiation and increases our natural production of our GLP-1s. So if we are looking at using Ozempic as well as strength training and high protein, you're going to get better body composition, better appetite control, better appetite hormone regulation.

And it's going to allow you to get off the Ozempic when you get to a certain point, which is decided by you and your doctor or whatever your lifestyle choice is.

This is a time. Yeah. Well, this is a time where you can play. You can play a little bit. You can try a lot of things. It depends on your hormone profile. It's like what kind of if you're using hormonal contraception, what kind is it? Is it oral contraceptive? Is it a Mirena? Is it a copper IUD?

All of those have different responses within the body, which is going to affect the kind of training and how you feel about training. Naturally cycling, are you finding changes in your bleed pattern? Are you finding changes in the length of your cycle? Well, those are beginning stopgaps and warning signs that you're putting your body under too much stress.

But for the most part, you want to find a goal and the basic idea of periodization of both cardiovascular and strength. is beneficial. If you're someone who wants to go the endurance route, sweet, you can. But put some strength training in there. You don't have to put it your mainstay, but you want to have a strong, resilient body regardless of where you are in your life.

So as we feed forward and see at the onset of puberty what happens is there's another divergence where with what we call the epigenetic exposure or the situational change that happens with estrogen, progesterone, to some extent testosterone in girls, we have a change in all of our biomechanics. So our center of gravity goes from being up in the chest area down to the hip area.

And you can pepper it in your 20s and your 30s with different adventures.

My habits. Well, full disclosure, I tried my very first high rocks on Sunday here in Auckland. Yeah. Was it good? It was super fun. Yeah, it was super fun. Super hot. I did end up tearing my meniscus.

Yeah. And I'll share the story is I was not strong enough in the posterior chain to do the sled pull and then run. And I went into it after being in the States under a high amount of stress and not having been able to train on the sled very much. I came back. I had 10 days before the race. So that's my full disclosure. But I'm now at a point where it's all right.

No, I haven't seen a sports doc or surgeon yet. So I'm like, I'm doing all the rehab things that I know. And I have to get on a plane next week and fly to the States and be gone for a month. So we'll see what happens. I am going Houston and then Boston, Boston, D.C., D.C., Denver, Denver, L.A., L.A., San Francisco.

No, I wish. It's not vacation. Doing some podcasts and some board meetings and some filming for a project and looking for houses.

Because the L.A. trip was really fully booked until someone just canceled. So that's why we're going to try to see what we can do when I'm there in L.A. Okay, perfect.

My habits. Yeah. So I am a kind of person that needs to get up before anyone else in the household so I can have 10 to 15 minutes of absolute no noise because that's how I can reset and recenter. Then I'd like to do some training, either go for a swim in the pool or the ocean. A couple of days a week. Strength training, definitely three to four times a week.

After training, come home, have food, do the email thing, go through all the meetings, have some quiet time, get some work done. Then my daughter comes home from school. We do some stuff and I do some more work. Then I take the dog for a walk, make dinner, have dinner, have conversations and maybe read with my daughter. And then I try to be in bed by 9.30, 10 o'clock.

I get up maybe 6.30, 7, but I'm also the most fatigued person at the end of the day and I want to go to bed before everyone else. But I make a priority. I'm like, I need to go to sleep now and I need to sleep. I might do some reading before falling asleep, make sure it's a cool, dark room because I don't like to be hot when I'm sleeping.

and I get very agitated if my sleep is disrupted because I'm like, I need sleep. I need sleep.

No, I don't. I advise people who do train. And every once in a while, I'll take someone on, especially if it's a really complex, like sticky moment where people are trying to do all the things and they're stuck. I wish I had the bandwidth to be able to get out there on boots on the ground to help more people on individual basis. But there's only one of me at the moment.

Our hips widen, our shoulder girdle widens, but we're not told about this. So we feel ungangly in our bodies. We aren't taught how to run again, how to jump, how to swing, how to land or any of those things. They're just, well, you are at this point, you get your period. We know girls drop out of sport, but it has to do with the fact that the actual biomechanics of the body have changed.

myth trend out there yeah i think the most underrated is the intuition i think people have forgotten what it feels like to sleep well to eat well to have energy because we've been told by wearables what we're supposed to be feeling and what we're supposed to be doing and people have lost that connection to themselves

So that intuition of actually understanding our body and using things like rating a perceived exertion without any of the tools, I think that's one of the most underrated, but one of the most effective means of invoking change. When I look on the other end of things, it's all those top end, like the 1% that you should be looking at, like peptides or fasting. Let's just bring it back to basics.

How are you eating? What are you eating? When are you eating? How are you sleeping? It's like the big four is the mindfulness, the sleep, the physical activity, and the nutrition. If we focus on those, then we can start to really see change.

It's when we start going outside the box and really focusing on all the biohacking and the bro science that's out there is when we start to lose sight of where we should be and get into the overrated trends that tend to take over everybody's mentality.

Saunas, I love. I started as an environmental exercise physiologist. So I look at how the heat can invoke positive change on the body. It doesn't have to be a large dose. It could be 10 to 15 minutes in a finished sauna three times a week because we start to see massive cardiovascular improvements, blood pressure improvements included in that, metabolic changes.

We have better blood glucose control. We have better gut health, brain health. So many great things happen with the heat. When we think about cold plunge for women, it's cool water. It's around 15 degrees Celsius, which is around that 56, 57 degree Fahrenheit mark. Ice is too cold and we don't get the same kind of response that men do when we get into ice.

It's too strong of a stress and the body rebounds with too much sympathetic drive. too much constriction, where if it's cool water, we're going to invoke initially a vagal response, which is that, and then the body's going to get that more parasympathetic relaxation response that we're looking for, for cold plunge.

So if you're a woman, you're jumping in. Yeah. So you're jumping into that icy cold water and you're getting that shock. And that shock is a sympathetic so that you have your flight or fight sensation, which is your sympathetic drive. And you have that deep relaxation, which is your parasympathetic drive.

For women, we get that shock and that sympathetic drive, which increases cortisol, increases our blood glucose and our free fatty acids because the body's like, ah, what is this incredible shock? I've got to get out and run away. For cool water, it's not as intense. So you don't get that sympathetic. You get the initial, and then the body's like, okay, I can deal with this.

I'm going to do some vasoconstriction. I'm going to put more blood sugar to the brain so that the brain understands what's going on and stimulates what we call the vagal nerve. So the vagal nerve is what that parasympathetic nervous system is attached to. So it invokes that calming and you can stay in it, take some deep breaths.

So when we start looking at all of these trends that are out there and about doing like zone two work and improving our aerobic capacity and trying to do ketogenic diet for improving our fat burning capacity, all that's based on male data. Because being born that XX, you already have all of that capacity.

But that said, heat does so much more for a woman's body than cold plunge. So if we're looking for increased parasympathetic drive, we're looking for better metabolic control, we're getting better hormonal control, it's all instigated by sauna work, not by cold plunge.

So the thing with the infrared is it really bypasses when the initial thermoregulation control centers. If you get to a point where it's hot enough and you get that sweat onset and you feel really uncomfortable, then you're hot enough. But you don't have to like stay in there for a half an hour or more being uncomfortable. You bring it up to your sweat response and then you can get out.

And I think that's what people don't like. They're like, oh, I get an infrared and I get warm, but I don't sweat. I'm like, but you need that. You need that uncomfortable heat and uncomfortable sweating to invoke the change.

Yeah, my stepdad has one, but we have a finish sauna. So I use our finish and then I go to my parents' house and I'm like, I'm freezing in your sauna.

Red. Yeah. Maybe you put on one of those sauna suits they sell in like Kmart or Walmart and you wear the sauna suit in your sauna.

Get a new sauna. Yeah. Do that. That's the best way to do it. Yeah.

Yeah, me too. It's great to see you. It's great to see you. And yeah, have a great day and give LA hugs for me.

What we need to work on throughout our entire life is working on that power base and the fast twitch. And I say that because we want to be able to produce power. We want to be able to run fast, to jump, to land, to have good coordination. But more than that, when we look at longevity and we see this is really important in peri and postmenopausal that we keep producing lactate for brain health.

The second edition that was just released last year.

And then we have Next Level that is specific for peri and postmenopause. Oh, perfect. Perfect.

Yeah, perfect.

Yeah, it'll get there. It's just, there's no pain. It just catches. So there's instability, but no pain. I'll take that.

I'm not running. I went for a swim this morning.

It was a happy place, but yeah.

Yes.

Because if we keep producing lactate from that fast twitch and that higher intensity work that we've been trying to build throughout our life, we are slowing the rate and the risk for Alzheimer's and dementia. So when we see that sex difference in Alzheimer's and dementia, it comes down to the type of muscle fibers and the metabolism that we've been exposed to throughout our life.

So that's why it's like, okay, if we look from birth all the way through to the end of life, There are unique things that women need to do to keep progressing and improving their health for longevity and performance, whereas men are more of a linear because they don't have all of these changes that women have with regards to biomechanics and hormone exposure.

So, of course, it makes sense that you see all this data that comes out for men and men are scribing these protocols and they're improving, that when you take that and put it into certain points within a woman's life, they're not going to respond the same way because physiologically and biomechanically, they are not the same as where that data originated from.

So women are more quad dominant, just the way our posture is and our center of gravity. So this already predisposes us to change of direction injury, soft tissue injury. That's part of the reason why we see a greater predisposition in ACL injury, because we don't have the hamstring strength to counter some of those cutting motions that causes an ACL tear.

So when we're looking at that and what we need to do is we need to put that focus away from the knee and the lunge and all that quad dominant type work, put it posterior. So you're looking at developing the glutes and the hamstrings, a lot of extension work. And we see that when women start to do that, they reduce their injury risk and they have better posture and cutting motion.

And when we're looking at things like what FIFAS put out for warm-up, it's all about warming up the posterior chain and trying to get those muscles firing as a counteract to some of those cutting motions that predispose women to ligamental tears. We also see that as we get into perimenopause, there is a definitive increase in plantar fascia issues and frozen shoulder or bursts in your shoulder.

And that has to do with the changing of the tensile strength in the ligaments as well as a weakening in the muscle contraction. So again, we're looking at what do we need to do to prevent that. We need to keep the strengthening and the faster type power-based action to create an environment that reduces injury, reduces the inflammation of the tendons, and allows better range of motion.

So when we look at men who are in their 40s, rarely do we hear about a plantar fascia issue. You look at women in their 40s, it's one of the leading issues that make them go see a physical therapist or an osteo or a chiro. It's an inherent sex difference, right? I can see you're like, you've probably experienced it.

Yeah, so frozen shoulder has to do with we have a wider shoulder girdle because our hips have widened. But if you think about all the metrics that we've taught to do push-ups, pull-ups, they're all in a grip strength or a grip width that's based on male data.

male physiology because you know if you go to do a pull-up and you're a bit wider like no more narrow so it puts a lot of strain where it shouldn't same with push-ups they're trying to teach you to be really tight and use more tricep but our shoulders as women we need to be wider so it's just that inherent that we're and we tend to like when we get our 40s we're like okay yeah i really i most of us have a challenge and we want to accomplish so it could be a push-up or pull-up or we start doing more up

and push-pull motions, and even like lifting things overhead, groceries and all that kind of stuff. It's just the mechanics that we are not taught how to actually maximize with our wider shoulders. And you couple that with changes in our estrogen-progesterone ratio, which changes tensile strength and the actual texture kind of of our tendons and our bursa, and it just comes on.

So I'm always trying to reteach from a young age From puberty onward, how we move in these new mechanics to reduce injury risk at the onset of puberty, but also as we get older into peri and postmenopause.

So a lot of it is you're dropping your traps and you're pulling back. So you're doing a lot of rhomboid work. You're also looking at where you're placing to be able to use more of your back muscles when you're doing a push-up. Also back muscles when using a pull-up instead of relying on the shoulders. And the same when you go to lift something up.

Most of the time we're lifting, we're hitching our shoulders. If we're thinking about dropping our traps and we're using our back muscles to pick something up and then extending through the hips to lift it up, we're reducing the load in our shoulders and in that rotation. which reduces the whole onset of injury or soft tissue damage that can perpetuate injury.

All the glute work where you're thinking about deadlifts, you're thinking about Romanian deadlifts, you're thinking about hip or glute bridges, hip thrusts, all of those things, right? And really focusing on getting the hips strong. And a lot of other things that can perpetuate it is we have weak and tight hip flexors.

So really working on developing that hip flexor strength so we can lift the hip and the leg up and over instead of stumbling.

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, absolutely. And it's scary because the conversation has not been out there. And now it's a buzzword and everybody's grabbing onto it. And there's a lot of misinformation that's being spread. And...

from a scientific point of view where I've been in the whole perimenopause, menopause research world for 15 or so years to all of a sudden see the conversation out there and people are misconstruing a lot of the research or they're in one camp bucket of pharmaceuticals or one camp bucket of suffering through it and none of it's actually right. And then there's just so much, it's just so noisy.

So I'm like trying to cut through the noise and go, okay, ask me what you want to know and we're going to unpack it for you.

Exactly. Exactly. That's it. Yeah. And I'm finding that a lot of the and I don't want to put people on the bus, but unfortunately, those with some of the loudest microphones tend to not stay in their lane. And what I mean by that is like if you're an endocrinologist or you're a medical specialist and you understand things like hormone therapy, then talk about that.

If you're someone who's like me, who's an exercise physiologist and a nutrition scientist and understands that and environmental stress, I talk about that. I can give a high touch on hormone therapy, but I'm not going to be a definitive person on that because that is not my area.

I'm going to refer you to Jen Gunter or Mary Claire or some of the other experts that are out there who actually know the nuances of hormone hormone therapy and how it can be applied to you as an individual.

So that's part of the confusion, too, because everyone's kind of in their silo and trying to be an expert in everything instead of saying, you know what, this is my lane and these are the things that I know. And I can talk at a high point on some of the things I don't know. But I really want you to seek out these experts who know what it is in that lane.

So as a physiologist, I'm going to explain what's happening on the undercurrent of everything. So we look at estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and they affect every system of the body.

And because it's at a point where you really need to polarize your training to get any kind of body composition change, not having any fuel before high intensity workout puts them in moderate intensity. They just can't hit the intensities they need to. Same with resistance training. Like you go in and a lot of women are now working on sessional RPE or rating perceived exertion.

And because it's at a point where you really need to polarize your training to get any kind of body composition change, not having any fuel before high intensity workout puts them in moderate intensity. They just can't hit the intensities they need to. Same with resistance training. Like you go in and a lot of women are now working on sessional RPE or rating perceived exertion.

Or you go in and say, okay, we need you to hit an eight on the squat. So you have two reps in reserve and a sessional RPE of an eight. Well, if they're not fueled, then we're seeing trends that they're missing around two to 5% of that top load. So they're not really lifting in that zone that they need to be in.

Or you go in and say, okay, we need you to hit an eight on the squat. So you have two reps in reserve and a sessional RPE of an eight. Well, if they're not fueled, then we're seeing trends that they're missing around two to 5% of that top load. So they're not really lifting in that zone that they need to be in.

Okay, so if we're talking about reps in reserve, this is when you go in and if you say eight, it means you have two reps in reserve. So you finish your eight and you should be able to complete two more with a really good form and then you hit failure.

Okay, so if we're talking about reps in reserve, this is when you go in and if you say eight, it means you have two reps in reserve. So you finish your eight and you should be able to complete two more with a really good form and then you hit failure.

Exactly.

Exactly.

Exactly. And so we can correspond that with your rating perceived exertion. So if we're saying... We need you to hit an eight on our scale of one to 10, avoiding perceived exertion. We see it correlates with that eight with two reps in reserve. So it's a way of quantifying what you're doing in the moment for a squat or a deadlift or some other really heavy lift that you're trying to accomplish.

Exactly. And so we can correspond that with your rating perceived exertion. So if we're saying... We need you to hit an eight on our scale of one to 10, avoiding perceived exertion. We see it correlates with that eight with two reps in reserve. So it's a way of quantifying what you're doing in the moment for a squat or a deadlift or some other really heavy lift that you're trying to accomplish.

And then that also depends on the age of the woman. So if we're looking at the reproductive years, so 20 to 40, then it doesn't matter so much. You can periodize pretty much how normal periodization works with your mesocycles and your microcycles. So you're looking at what you're doing across a few months, what are you doing in the week, are you lifting heavy, power-based training.

And then that also depends on the age of the woman. So if we're looking at the reproductive years, so 20 to 40, then it doesn't matter so much. You can periodize pretty much how normal periodization works with your mesocycles and your microcycles. So you're looking at what you're doing across a few months, what are you doing in the week, are you lifting heavy, power-based training.

But when we start to get to perimenopause and we're losing all the flux of estrogen, and estrogen is the woman's testosterone, the key driver for strength and power, we have to look at lifting heavy.

But when we start to get to perimenopause and we're losing all the flux of estrogen, and estrogen is the woman's testosterone, the key driver for strength and power, we have to look at lifting heavy.

So this is where we really turn women on to, we want you to do something that is two reps in reserve, three reps in reserve, because your one rep max also changes depending on what kind of training block you're doing. So we're finding that when you're talking about reps and reserve, then it allows people to lift more on the day.

So this is where we really turn women on to, we want you to do something that is two reps in reserve, three reps in reserve, because your one rep max also changes depending on what kind of training block you're doing. So we're finding that when you're talking about reps and reserve, then it allows people to lift more on the day.

So we can get women to get into that strength and power-based type training rather than going, let's lift to fatigue because then it might be 20 reps.

So we can get women to get into that strength and power-based type training rather than going, let's lift to fatigue because then it might be 20 reps.

and that 20 reps doesn't invoke a big central nervous system response, which is what we want, it's more of that hypertrophy and muscle tearing, you will gain some lean mass, but not as much strength as if you were to invoke that central nervous system response.

and that 20 reps doesn't invoke a big central nervous system response, which is what we want, it's more of that hypertrophy and muscle tearing, you will gain some lean mass, but not as much strength as if you were to invoke that central nervous system response.

And that becomes really critical as women get older because we need to find that external response that's going to cause the same kind of strength and power adaptation that estrogen used to support.

And that becomes really critical as women get older because we need to find that external response that's going to cause the same kind of strength and power adaptation that estrogen used to support.

Yeah. I mean, like I'm the kind of person that gets up and is out the door within a half an hour to go do whatever I'm going to do. So it's not like I'm going to have a full meal.

Yeah. I mean, like I'm the kind of person that gets up and is out the door within a half an hour to go do whatever I'm going to do. So it's not like I'm going to have a full meal.

I wish I could, but the way my life is, it doesn't work that way. But I'm also one of the people that never really has an appetite till 11 o'clock.

I wish I could, but the way my life is, it doesn't work that way. But I'm also one of the people that never really has an appetite till 11 o'clock.

So I make a double espresso at night and I put some almond milk and a scoop of protein powder in there. So the almond milk is sweetened and usually it's unsweetened, but sweetened for the carb. And then the protein powder for the protein, because if I'm going to go do an ocean swim, then I need some carbohydrate and protein on board.

So I make a double espresso at night and I put some almond milk and a scoop of protein powder in there. So the almond milk is sweetened and usually it's unsweetened, but sweetened for the carb. And then the protein powder for the protein, because if I'm going to go do an ocean swim, then I need some carbohydrate and protein on board.

If I'm going to just go to the gym, then I'll probably just have the protein powder and the coffee. Yes, I'm caffeinating, but I'm also getting the calories for the hypothalamus and getting some more circulating amino acids. Abby Smith-Ryan out of UNC did some specific work looking at carbohydrate, protein, B4, and strength or cardio.

If I'm going to just go to the gym, then I'll probably just have the protein powder and the coffee. Yes, I'm caffeinating, but I'm also getting the calories for the hypothalamus and getting some more circulating amino acids. Abby Smith-Ryan out of UNC did some specific work looking at carbohydrate, protein, B4, and strength or cardio.

And found that if you're going to do a true strength training session, you only need around 15 grams of protein before you go to really help you get into the idea that, yes, you have some fuel on board and also increases your post-exercise oxygen consumption or your EPOC so your resting metabolism stays elevated. giving you a better chance for recovery post-exercise as well.

And found that if you're going to do a true strength training session, you only need around 15 grams of protein before you go to really help you get into the idea that, yes, you have some fuel on board and also increases your post-exercise oxygen consumption or your EPOC so your resting metabolism stays elevated. giving you a better chance for recovery post-exercise as well.

If you're going to do any kind of cardiovascular type work up to an hour, then you're adding 30 grams of carb to that. So it's not a lot of food and it's not a full meal. Other people are like, I'm starving right before I go training. Then yes, you can have your meal, giving yourself about half an hour before. But it doesn't have to be major food that we're talking about.

If you're going to do any kind of cardiovascular type work up to an hour, then you're adding 30 grams of carb to that. So it's not a lot of food and it's not a full meal. Other people are like, I'm starving right before I go training. Then yes, you can have your meal, giving yourself about half an hour before. But it doesn't have to be major food that we're talking about.

But that's just enough to bring blood sugar up and stimulate the hypothalamus to say, yeah, there's some nutrition coming in. And then you have your real food afterwards. You have your breakfast afterwards within 45 minutes.

But that's just enough to bring blood sugar up and stimulate the hypothalamus to say, yeah, there's some nutrition coming in. And then you have your real food afterwards. You have your breakfast afterwards within 45 minutes.

I hate that conversation.

I hate that conversation.

Yeah. And the longer someone withholds food after exercise and the greater they stay in that catabolic or breakdown state, the more the brain perceives it as being in a low energy state. So the first thing to go is lean mass.

Yeah. And the longer someone withholds food after exercise and the greater they stay in that catabolic or breakdown state, the more the brain perceives it as being in a low energy state. So the first thing to go is lean mass.

When you start telling a woman that if you're going to do fasted training and or you're going to delay food intake afterwards while you're training because the first thing that goes is lean mass and it's really, really hard for women to put on lean mass.

When you start telling a woman that if you're going to do fasted training and or you're going to delay food intake afterwards while you're training because the first thing that goes is lean mass and it's really, really hard for women to put on lean mass.

So once you start really nailing that and then saying, look, you just need 15 grams of protein to really help and be able to conserve that lean mass. It's a small, simple fix. People try it and they're like, oh my gosh, I feel amazing. So small little things when you're working with the whole system. Because I get tired, especially around Christmas time when you're reading all the magazines.

So once you start really nailing that and then saying, look, you just need 15 grams of protein to really help and be able to conserve that lean mass. It's a small, simple fix. People try it and they're like, oh my gosh, I feel amazing. So small little things when you're working with the whole system. Because I get tired, especially around Christmas time when you're reading all the magazines.

It's like two cookies means you have to walk for 30 minutes on the treadmill. It's like it doesn't correlate like that at all. So that's why I was like I hate the calorie conversation because it's just not applicable.

It's like two cookies means you have to walk for 30 minutes on the treadmill. It's like it doesn't correlate like that at all. So that's why I was like I hate the calorie conversation because it's just not applicable.

So we know that women who are in their reproductive years need around 35 grams of good protein, high-quality leucine-oriented protein within 45 minutes. And we see that women who are perimenopausal onwards are 40 to 60 grams because we become more anabolically resistant to food and exercise as we get older.

So we know that women who are in their reproductive years need around 35 grams of good protein, high-quality leucine-oriented protein within 45 minutes. And we see that women who are perimenopausal onwards are 40 to 60 grams because we become more anabolically resistant to food and exercise as we get older.

When we look at the recovery window for food, there are definitely sex differences because we hear all the conversation of there's no recovery window. It's old science. But we look at the research of when women's metabolisms come back down to baseline, meaning that they have constant straight blood sugar levels versus men. Women, it's within 60 minutes. And for men, it's up to three hours.

When we look at the recovery window for food, there are definitely sex differences because we hear all the conversation of there's no recovery window. It's old science. But we look at the research of when women's metabolisms come back down to baseline, meaning that they have constant straight blood sugar levels versus men. Women, it's within 60 minutes. And for men, it's up to three hours.

So when we're looking at the data that says there's no window per se for getting food in, it's based on male data. So when we're looking at women, we have this tighter window to stop that breakdown effect and start the reparation. So yeah, it's like when we're talking about the protein intake, it's really important

So when we're looking at the data that says there's no window per se for getting food in, it's based on male data. So when we're looking at women, we have this tighter window to stop that breakdown effect and start the reparation. So yeah, it's like when we're talking about the protein intake, it's really important

not only to get that leucine content up in the muscle to start the reparation and repair, but also, again, to signal that, yeah, we're in a building state. We're not holding that catabolic state and increasing all the repercussions that come with it.

not only to get that leucine content up in the muscle to start the reparation and repair, but also, again, to signal that, yeah, we're in a building state. We're not holding that catabolic state and increasing all the repercussions that come with it.

We look at mixed, but for men it's more important because they go through their liver and muscle glycogen so much faster than women. So when we look at women, we want to get around 0.3 grams per kilo of carbohydrate within two hours of finishing. So we look at protein and people are like, well, that's a big dose of protein, how do I get it all in?

We look at mixed, but for men it's more important because they go through their liver and muscle glycogen so much faster than women. So when we look at women, we want to get around 0.3 grams per kilo of carbohydrate within two hours of finishing. So we look at protein and people are like, well, that's a big dose of protein, how do I get it all in?

It's like, yeah, well, you can look at how we mix all of these things, you're also getting carbohydrate in with that. So that's why I say you could have your next meal after your training session. Yeah, there's a time and a place for protein supplementation.

It's like, yeah, well, you can look at how we mix all of these things, you're also getting carbohydrate in with that. So that's why I say you could have your next meal after your training session. Yeah, there's a time and a place for protein supplementation.

But if you're getting that real food and then you're also getting, you know, your magnesium and your potassium and your sodium and all the things that people supposedly lose and you're able to also repair a lot better.

But if you're getting that real food and then you're also getting, you know, your magnesium and your potassium and your sodium and all the things that people supposedly lose and you're able to also repair a lot better.

Yeah. I think the easiest way for people to understand the basic idea of what low energy is and how this affects men and women is when we are looking at a tipping point for endocrine dysfunction. For men, we're seeing that tipping point at 15 calories per kilogram of fat-free mass. For women, it's 30.

Yeah. I think the easiest way for people to understand the basic idea of what low energy is and how this affects men and women is when we are looking at a tipping point for endocrine dysfunction. For men, we're seeing that tipping point at 15 calories per kilogram of fat-free mass. For women, it's 30.

So when we're looking at baseline calorie needs before you really get into that endocrine dysfunction, when you're looking at those parameters, you can see why men do better in a fasted state or a low calorie state.

So when we're looking at baseline calorie needs before you really get into that endocrine dysfunction, when you're looking at those parameters, you can see why men do better in a fasted state or a low calorie state.

But for women, our intake and especially our carbohydrate needs are so much higher because we have so many other functions that are reliant on that kispeptin upregulation or downregulation, preferably upregulation. So when we're just talking the basic calorie needs and what we're seeing, it's that dichotomy right there of 15 to 30.

But for women, our intake and especially our carbohydrate needs are so much higher because we have so many other functions that are reliant on that kispeptin upregulation or downregulation, preferably upregulation. So when we're just talking the basic calorie needs and what we're seeing, it's that dichotomy right there of 15 to 30.

And when you start telling people that, they're like, oh, okay, I get it. Is that a biological aspect? It's like, well, you could trace it all the way back where men went out to get the calories in most tribes and the women were home and it wasn't advantageous to be pregnant under low calorie intake. That's why you have dysfunction when the calories are too low.

And when you start telling people that, they're like, oh, okay, I get it. Is that a biological aspect? It's like, well, you could trace it all the way back where men went out to get the calories in most tribes and the women were home and it wasn't advantageous to be pregnant under low calorie intake. That's why you have dysfunction when the calories are too low.

But, you know, you can also feed forward to modern day now and you're seeing that all this perturbance of hormone and the way we regulate hormone across the circadian rhythm requires more calories for women than it does for men.

But, you know, you can also feed forward to modern day now and you're seeing that all this perturbance of hormone and the way we regulate hormone across the circadian rhythm requires more calories for women than it does for men.

It's great.

It's great.

I've seen the evolution. When I was 16, one of my friend's brothers was a bodybuilder and he took us to the gym, kind of like what you did with your sister. And so both of us were like, oh, we want to beat those guys. So we got into weight training with him, not to be a bodybuilder, but it's been like the paramount throughout all of my athletic career.

I've seen the evolution. When I was 16, one of my friend's brothers was a bodybuilder and he took us to the gym, kind of like what you did with your sister. And so both of us were like, oh, we want to beat those guys. So we got into weight training with him, not to be a bodybuilder, but it's been like the paramount throughout all of my athletic career.

Used to be I'd be the only woman on the lifting platform. And now it's like you have to wait because there's so many women on the lifting platforms. I love it. It's great.

Used to be I'd be the only woman on the lifting platform. And now it's like you have to wait because there's so many women on the lifting platforms. I love it. It's great.

It's a central nervous system aspect. There's a lot of, like, if we look at the culture of how a lot of us grew up, and I'm saying us like 45 plus, right? The women were all the 90s supermodels, don't show muscle, that kind of stuff. So always been gravitated to cardio.

It's a central nervous system aspect. There's a lot of, like, if we look at the culture of how a lot of us grew up, and I'm saying us like 45 plus, right? The women were all the 90s supermodels, don't show muscle, that kind of stuff. So always been gravitated to cardio.

Even now if you go to a gym and you're a new member or you're signing up for a new member and you're a woman, they'll say, hey, great, here's all of our spin classes and our box fit classes.

Even now if you go to a gym and you're a new member or you're signing up for a new member and you're a woman, they'll say, hey, great, here's all of our spin classes and our box fit classes.

Yeah. And there's the cardiovascular machines. A guy comes in like, all right, how much do you want to put on? Here are the lifting platforms, all the weight trainings at the back. starting to see a shift with boutique type gyms, but that's still the commonality there. So it's still that little bit of taboo.

Yeah. And there's the cardiovascular machines. A guy comes in like, all right, how much do you want to put on? Here are the lifting platforms, all the weight trainings at the back. starting to see a shift with boutique type gyms, but that's still the commonality there. So it's still that little bit of taboo.

So when women start strength training, they haven't been exposed to that kind of central nervous system stress before. And the whole aspect of getting the nerve and the acetylcholine, which are little vesicles that hold the ability for the nerve to actually stimulate the muscle fiber, all that gets trained really quickly.

So when women start strength training, they haven't been exposed to that kind of central nervous system stress before. And the whole aspect of getting the nerve and the acetylcholine, which are little vesicles that hold the ability for the nerve to actually stimulate the muscle fiber, all that gets trained really quickly.

So the more that you train it and the more muscle fibers that are recruited for contraction, you see an increase in strength really rapidly. And slowly building on that for increased muscle bulk, because it takes a long time for women to put bulk on. Because the driver for strength training is that central nervous system. So it's great when we see higher doses, more volume.

So the more that you train it and the more muscle fibers that are recruited for contraction, you see an increase in strength really rapidly. And slowly building on that for increased muscle bulk, because it takes a long time for women to put bulk on. Because the driver for strength training is that central nervous system. So it's great when we see higher doses, more volume.

We aren't seeing huge hypertrophy. We're just seeing really good increases in strength.

We aren't seeing huge hypertrophy. We're just seeing really good increases in strength.

Yeah. That's why on your physique competitions and bodybuilding competitions, they're out the back pumping before they go on stage.

Yeah. That's why on your physique competitions and bodybuilding competitions, they're out the back pumping before they go on stage.

Yeah, so if we're looking at that 20 to 30-year-old, a lot of times I really try to get them to focus on the whole movement aspect first. So we phase them in. Same with older women. Phase them in, learn how to move, learn complex movements so that when you are going in to do resistance training, preferably three to four times a week,

Yeah, so if we're looking at that 20 to 30-year-old, a lot of times I really try to get them to focus on the whole movement aspect first. So we phase them in. Same with older women. Phase them in, learn how to move, learn complex movements so that when you are going in to do resistance training, preferably three to four times a week,

You can look at moving well, and it doesn't have to be a long period of time. If you're doing to failure, which works really well when you're younger to increase strength and a little bit of hypertrophy, you're going to have to spend a little bit more time in the gym. So it might be 45 to 60 minutes.

You can look at moving well, and it doesn't have to be a long period of time. If you're doing to failure, which works really well when you're younger to increase strength and a little bit of hypertrophy, you're going to have to spend a little bit more time in the gym. So it might be 45 to 60 minutes.

When we're looking at doing that four times a week, you can add in a sprint interval training at the end of one of those to get that super high intensity. Or you can look at putting in at the most two HIIT sessions on separate days if you're training specifically for something. So if I work with a lot of endurance athletes still and they're like, well, how do I fit it in? It's like,

When we're looking at doing that four times a week, you can add in a sprint interval training at the end of one of those to get that super high intensity. Or you can look at putting in at the most two HIIT sessions on separate days if you're training specifically for something. So if I work with a lot of endurance athletes still and they're like, well, how do I fit it in? It's like,

Okay, well, we look at the quality and how that fits into your training. So if you're training for a marathon, you're training for a triathlon or other endurance stuff, you can take that high intensity work and put it into your training program. So ideally, we look at three to four resistance training with really good movement when we're in the younger set with two high intensities.

Okay, well, we look at the quality and how that fits into your training. So if you're training for a marathon, you're training for a triathlon or other endurance stuff, you can take that high intensity work and put it into your training program. So ideally, we look at three to four resistance training with really good movement when we're in the younger set with two high intensities.

When we start getting into our 30s, we start having an eye to how are we actually doing that resistance training. Instead of just going and doing a circuit, we're really focusing on let's do some compound movements. Let's look at doing some heavier work. Let's look at how we are periodizing. So we're having six-week blocks and we're building on those blocks because we want that base foundation.

When we start getting into our 30s, we start having an eye to how are we actually doing that resistance training. Instead of just going and doing a circuit, we're really focusing on let's do some compound movements. Let's look at doing some heavier work. Let's look at how we are periodizing. So we're having six-week blocks and we're building on those blocks because we want that base foundation.

So when we get to be 40 plus, we can actually go and do our power base training. If you're in your 40s, you've never done resistance training at all, then we take between two weeks to four months to really learn how to move well because there's a higher incidence of soft tissue injury and overall injury as we get into our 40s because of perturbations of estrogen.

So when we get to be 40 plus, we can actually go and do our power base training. If you're in your 40s, you've never done resistance training at all, then we take between two weeks to four months to really learn how to move well because there's a higher incidence of soft tissue injury and overall injury as we get into our 40s because of perturbations of estrogen.

And ideally when we get there, we're looking at that around three, minimum three resistance training with compound movements and either one sprint interval or two sprint intervals and one hit in a week.

And ideally when we get there, we're looking at that around three, minimum three resistance training with compound movements and either one sprint interval or two sprint intervals and one hit in a week.

Yeah, what works for them. If you're looking for a short amount of time in the gym because of busy lives, then you can split it. If you're looking at, okay, well, I can allocate an hour to an hour and a half in the gym, then you can do total body with adequate rest. The key when you're younger is working to failure. The key when you're older is working heavy. Interesting. Yeah.

Yeah, what works for them. If you're looking for a short amount of time in the gym because of busy lives, then you can split it. If you're looking at, okay, well, I can allocate an hour to an hour and a half in the gym, then you can do total body with adequate rest. The key when you're younger is working to failure. The key when you're older is working heavy. Interesting. Yeah.

So when we're looking at working to failure, we're trying to get more of that lean mass growth with strength. When we get older, because it's so difficult to put on lean mass, we really want to focus on the strength component first. because that becomes more important when we're talking about longevity.

So when we're looking at working to failure, we're trying to get more of that lean mass growth with strength. When we get older, because it's so difficult to put on lean mass, we really want to focus on the strength component first. because that becomes more important when we're talking about longevity.

Because if you're looking at the strength component from a central nervous system standpoint, we see it feeds forward into better proprioception, attenuation of cognitive decline. And this is the other thing that you in neuroscience would understand, the sex differences in things like dementia and Alzheimer's.

Because if you're looking at the strength component from a central nervous system standpoint, we see it feeds forward into better proprioception, attenuation of cognitive decline. And this is the other thing that you in neuroscience would understand, the sex differences in things like dementia and Alzheimer's.

There's some really interesting research looking at strength training and that power-based stuff when we're getting into our older ages because we get more neural growth patterns and more neural pathways.

There's some really interesting research looking at strength training and that power-based stuff when we're getting into our older ages because we get more neural growth patterns and more neural pathways.

No. The thing about it is men age more in a linear fashion. Whereas women, we have a definitive point in our late 40s, early 50s, where all of a sudden things go to shit, where it's that perimenopausal state. And I can't tell you how many emails and DMs I get in a day from women who are like, I'm 46 or I'm 47. I'm putting on body fat. I don't know what's going on. I can't sleep.

No. The thing about it is men age more in a linear fashion. Whereas women, we have a definitive point in our late 40s, early 50s, where all of a sudden things go to shit, where it's that perimenopausal state. And I can't tell you how many emails and DMs I get in a day from women who are like, I'm 46 or I'm 47. I'm putting on body fat. I don't know what's going on. I can't sleep.

And then we say, it's perimenopause. They're like, what is that? And so when we're looking at perimenopause, it is a huge... change in the body because you're having less and less of your sex hormones circulating. More and more anovulatory cycles means no progesterone or very low progesterone. You're having a difference in the pulse of your estradiol to those flatline aspects.

And then we say, it's perimenopause. They're like, what is that? And so when we're looking at perimenopause, it is a huge... change in the body because you're having less and less of your sex hormones circulating. More and more anovulatory cycles means no progesterone or very low progesterone. You're having a difference in the pulse of your estradiol to those flatline aspects.

And because every system in the body is affected by it, this is why you see more soft tissue injuries. Two of the biggest things that women who are in their 40s are going to PTs about are frozen shoulder and plantar fascia. These are two really indicative issues that are happening in perimenopause. So that whole section of mid-40s to early-50s is a definitive aging point.

And because every system in the body is affected by it, this is why you see more soft tissue injuries. Two of the biggest things that women who are in their 40s are going to PTs about are frozen shoulder and plantar fascia. These are two really indicative issues that are happening in perimenopause. So that whole section of mid-40s to early-50s is a definitive aging point.

where I really tried to get women to get into the heavy lifting and get into the patterns of polarizing their training, not putting an emphasis on zone two, just really looking at how am I polarizing, how am I affecting my central nervous system, so that when they get into that one point in time of that perimenopause, their body is already conditioned for the stress that's coming.

where I really tried to get women to get into the heavy lifting and get into the patterns of polarizing their training, not putting an emphasis on zone two, just really looking at how am I polarizing, how am I affecting my central nervous system, so that when they get into that one point in time of that perimenopause, their body is already conditioned for the stress that's coming.

Whereas men, we see that kind of stuff happens in their late 50s, early 60s. So the soft tissue injuries, the change in body comp comes at a later time. So yes, looking at how we're scoping our strength training, definitely something to think about in a longevity factor. But for women, there's a better indication of the timing across the ages of when you should start implementing.

Whereas men, we see that kind of stuff happens in their late 50s, early 60s. So the soft tissue injuries, the change in body comp comes at a later time. So yes, looking at how we're scoping our strength training, definitely something to think about in a longevity factor. But for women, there's a better indication of the timing across the ages of when you should start implementing.

For men, I think you have a better bandwidth of when you should start implementing.

For men, I think you have a better bandwidth of when you should start implementing.

So I am notorious for slamming things like Orange Theory and F45 because they market specifically to that age group of women. And it's not appropriate because it's not true high intensity work.

So I am notorious for slamming things like Orange Theory and F45 because they market specifically to that age group of women. And it's not appropriate because it's not true high intensity work.

When we're looking at women who are really trying to maximize body composition change and longevity and unfortunately default to cardio because they think, oh, that's going to help change my body composition. It's going to help me lose body fat. It doesn't.

When we're looking at women who are really trying to maximize body composition change and longevity and unfortunately default to cardio because they think, oh, that's going to help change my body composition. It's going to help me lose body fat. It doesn't.

Yes, there is. But it puts women squarely in moderate intensity where they're so used to leaving one of those classes feeling absolutely smashed.

Yes, there is. But it puts women squarely in moderate intensity where they're so used to leaving one of those classes feeling absolutely smashed.

that when you tell them, actually that training doesn't work for you because it's putting you in a state of intensity that drives cortisol up, but it's not a strong enough stress to invoke the post-exercise growth hormone and testosterone responses that we want to dampen that cortisol. So this is why we have that hyperbole of women who are in their 40s plus shouldn't do high-intensity work.

that when you tell them, actually that training doesn't work for you because it's putting you in a state of intensity that drives cortisol up, but it's not a strong enough stress to invoke the post-exercise growth hormone and testosterone responses that we want to dampen that cortisol. So this is why we have that hyperbole of women who are in their 40s plus shouldn't do high-intensity work.

It's like, well, actually they shouldn't do moderate intensity. They need to avoid that. Polarizing, absolutely. That's what we want. We want true high-intensity work, which is one to four minutes of 80% or more. Or if you're doing sprint interval, it's full gas for 30 seconds or less. And you're doing that a couple of times a week.

It's like, well, actually they shouldn't do moderate intensity. They need to avoid that. Polarizing, absolutely. That's what we want. We want true high-intensity work, which is one to four minutes of 80% or more. Or if you're doing sprint interval, it's full gas for 30 seconds or less. And you're doing that a couple of times a week.

You're not doing it every day because you need to have enough recovery to hit those intensities truly because those are the intensities that are going to give you those post-exercise hormonal responses to drop cortisol. When we're looking at women who are like, oh, well, I love going out for hours and hours on my bike and I love doing my spin classes.

You're not doing it every day because you need to have enough recovery to hit those intensities truly because those are the intensities that are going to give you those post-exercise hormonal responses to drop cortisol. When we're looking at women who are like, oh, well, I love going out for hours and hours on my bike and I love doing my spin classes.

It's like, okay, but we need to look at the big rock here. If you are looking for longevity and body composition change and cognition and all those things, you have to polarize your training and that has to be the focus. But soul food, like I come from a long background of endurance.

It's like, okay, but we need to look at the big rock here. If you are looking for longevity and body composition change and cognition and all those things, you have to polarize your training and that has to be the focus. But soul food, like I come from a long background of endurance.

I now love riding my gravel bike on the weekends for long periods of time, which is not optimal for me, my age, that kind of stuff for all the things that I want to see improvements in. But mentally, it's great. So we talk about going out for that long stuff. Zone two is that low conversation, and that's fine for mental health and being out in nature.

I now love riding my gravel bike on the weekends for long periods of time, which is not optimal for me, my age, that kind of stuff for all the things that I want to see improvements in. But mentally, it's great. So we talk about going out for that long stuff. Zone two is that low conversation, and that's fine for mental health and being out in nature.

But for optimal health and well-being, we don't want to do that. We want to look at resistance training as a bedrock and true high-intensity work. to help with body composition change, metabolic control, insulin sensitivity, brain health, and dropping that cortisol?

But for optimal health and well-being, we don't want to do that. We want to look at resistance training as a bedrock and true high-intensity work. to help with body composition change, metabolic control, insulin sensitivity, brain health, and dropping that cortisol?

Yeah, this is where I love technology for one thing. But if we're staying really basic, I look at some of my family members and I've gotten them started with just body weight stuff or loading a backpack with cans to add a little bit of resistance so they feel comfortable in their own house and they might be doing lunges or squats.

Yeah, this is where I love technology for one thing. But if we're staying really basic, I look at some of my family members and I've gotten them started with just body weight stuff or loading a backpack with cans to add a little bit of resistance so they feel comfortable in their own house and they might be doing lunges or squats.

Um, just keying them up of like where foot placement and knee and that kind of stuff. So they're getting used to that kind of movement. Um, I love Kelly Starrett's stuff with mobility. So show them like, here's how we do some of the mobility to find where the sticking points are.

Um, just keying them up of like where foot placement and knee and that kind of stuff. So they're getting used to that kind of movement. Um, I love Kelly Starrett's stuff with mobility. So show them like, here's how we do some of the mobility to find where the sticking points are.

And then you can either direct them to some of the programs that are out there that, um, like Haley happens has some really good ones for women who are 40 plus. So does, um, Brie and then Sonny Webster down in Australia, you can send in a video of what you're doing and he can critique you and tell you things to do. There are other programs like that too.

And then you can either direct them to some of the programs that are out there that, um, like Haley happens has some really good ones for women who are 40 plus. So does, um, Brie and then Sonny Webster down in Australia, you can send in a video of what you're doing and he can critique you and tell you things to do. There are other programs like that too.

So there's lots of ways of getting help if you seek it. The personal trainer is very much a stumbling block for a lot of people. And as much as I am not a fan of Planet Fitness, I am a fan of the fact that they've made it really easy for someone to walk in who's interested in resistance training.

So there's lots of ways of getting help if you seek it. The personal trainer is very much a stumbling block for a lot of people. And as much as I am not a fan of Planet Fitness, I am a fan of the fact that they've made it really easy for someone to walk in who's interested in resistance training.

And they can go to a circuit, one of the circuit things that they have at the back, and they can start resistance training on machines, which is another level up to learning compound movements. There's lots of ways of breaking that barrier to entry.

And they can go to a circuit, one of the circuit things that they have at the back, and they can start resistance training on machines, which is another level up to learning compound movements. There's lots of ways of breaking that barrier to entry.

You just have to find the motivation factor of what's going to incentivize the person to give up their time walking every day and taking time to go to the gym or taking time to do garage-based stuff that's going to improve their lean mass.

You just have to find the motivation factor of what's going to incentivize the person to give up their time walking every day and taking time to go to the gym or taking time to do garage-based stuff that's going to improve their lean mass.

For your size.

For your size.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm also a fan of kettlebells in the garage or like lighter dumbbells that you can do like thrusters or hang cleans or something like that to get the momentum and movement feeling because that's another good learning curve for people. So like I said, there's lots of ways that you can implement things based on someone's intuitive like or dislike of resistance training.

I'm also a fan of kettlebells in the garage or like lighter dumbbells that you can do like thrusters or hang cleans or something like that to get the momentum and movement feeling because that's another good learning curve for people. So like I said, there's lots of ways that you can implement things based on someone's intuitive like or dislike of resistance training.

When I talk about polarizing, I look at the high intensity strength, like that's really hard on the central nervous system. And then we look from a cardiovascular standpoint of doing true high intensity work. So the walking is more of the recovery. So if you're going to go out and do something long, it has to be very, very easy.

When I talk about polarizing, I look at the high intensity strength, like that's really hard on the central nervous system. And then we look from a cardiovascular standpoint of doing true high intensity work. So the walking is more of the recovery. So if you're going to go out and do something long, it has to be very, very easy.

If you are looking at cardiovascular and you want that big sweat, then we are talking true sprint interval training. So what I have a lot of women do is a 20-minute lower body heavy set, and then they'll go on the assault bike and do as hard as they can for 30 seconds and then recover as much as they need to to go then do another 30 seconds as hard as they can.

If you are looking at cardiovascular and you want that big sweat, then we are talking true sprint interval training. So what I have a lot of women do is a 20-minute lower body heavy set, and then they'll go on the assault bike and do as hard as they can for 30 seconds and then recover as much as they need to to go then do another 30 seconds as hard as they can.

Most people go, oh, I can do four or five of those. After two, they're completely gassed. because it's that hard of work. And that's what I mean by polarizing. You have very, very low intensity for recovery and super, super high intensity for metabolic and cardiovascular changes is what we're after.

Most people go, oh, I can do four or five of those. After two, they're completely gassed. because it's that hard of work. And that's what I mean by polarizing. You have very, very low intensity for recovery and super, super high intensity for metabolic and cardiovascular changes is what we're after.

So this is the sticky point of recent science because we see all these research studies and meta-analyses that are coming out of the sports science literature saying that there is no effect of the menstrual cycle on anything. When you look at that population, it is specifically eumenorrheic women might have a subject pool of 10, if you're lucky, 12.

So this is the sticky point of recent science because we see all these research studies and meta-analyses that are coming out of the sports science literature saying that there is no effect of the menstrual cycle on anything. When you look at that population, it is specifically eumenorrheic women might have a subject pool of 10, if you're lucky, 12.

Supposedly ovulating. So they have a definitive low hormone and high hormone phase.

Supposedly ovulating. So they have a definitive low hormone and high hormone phase.

Yes, exactly.

Yes, exactly.

Right. Okay. And they look at performance, meaning that one point in time. And we know that psychologically you can perform at any point. in the menstrual cycle unless you have something like heavy menstrual bleeding.

Right. Okay. And they look at performance, meaning that one point in time. And we know that psychologically you can perform at any point. in the menstrual cycle unless you have something like heavy menstrual bleeding.

When we're looking at a higher touch and looking not only from a molecular aspect but also pulling in mixed methods and looking at the qualitative, we need women to track their own cycle and find their own patterns because we know that there are times where you feel like crap and you can't push intensity. but that might be on day eight for one woman, it might be day 18 for another.

When we're looking at a higher touch and looking not only from a molecular aspect but also pulling in mixed methods and looking at the qualitative, we need women to track their own cycle and find their own patterns because we know that there are times where you feel like crap and you can't push intensity. but that might be on day eight for one woman, it might be day 18 for another.

From a molecular standpoint, we know that the low hormone phase being day one is the first day of bleeding up through ovulation, which is midway through your cycle, you have a greater capacity for pulling in and accommodating stress, physical and mental stress. So if we're looking at doing heavier loads, we're looking at doing high intensity work, we're looking at motivation,

From a molecular standpoint, we know that the low hormone phase being day one is the first day of bleeding up through ovulation, which is midway through your cycle, you have a greater capacity for pulling in and accommodating stress, physical and mental stress. So if we're looking at doing heavier loads, we're looking at doing high intensity work, we're looking at motivation,

then that low hormone phase is really optimal for trying to hit a PR or trying to hit a new speed because you can take on that stress and your immune system handles it, your muscles handle it, your core temperature, everything handles it.

then that low hormone phase is really optimal for trying to hit a PR or trying to hit a new speed because you can take on that stress and your immune system handles it, your muscles handle it, your core temperature, everything handles it.

It is day one of bleeding up through mid-cycle.

It is day one of bleeding up through mid-cycle.

The sticky point comes not every woman ovulates. And this is a thing when we're looking at general pop. We have lifestyle stress, we have nutrition stress. We know that women, for the most part, have four to five anovulatory cycles a year. So this is where when you're looking at that high hormone phase... we can't say you're definitively in the high hormone phase.

The sticky point comes not every woman ovulates. And this is a thing when we're looking at general pop. We have lifestyle stress, we have nutrition stress. We know that women, for the most part, have four to five anovulatory cycles a year. So this is where when you're looking at that high hormone phase... we can't say you're definitively in the high hormone phase.

So this is where we need women to track their own cycles and understand their own patterns. Because in an ideal world, we know that in the luteal phase, this is where we have the most change, where we have a pro-inflammatory response from the immune system. We have inability to access carbohydrate as well. We have a higher sympathetic drive.

So this is where we need women to track their own cycles and understand their own patterns. Because in an ideal world, we know that in the luteal phase, this is where we have the most change, where we have a pro-inflammatory response from the immune system. We have inability to access carbohydrate as well. We have a higher sympathetic drive.

So there's lots of things in there that aren't so fantastic for accommodating stress.

So there's lots of things in there that aren't so fantastic for accommodating stress.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, core temperature goes up, but the whole goal of the luteal phase is to build tissue. So this is where we're seeing a lot of shuttling of carbohydrate and amino acids to go to build that endometrial lining, and that's the whole goal. So yes, you need to eat more protein, you need to eat more carbohydrate, But again, the sticking point is, did you ovulate or not?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, core temperature goes up, but the whole goal of the luteal phase is to build tissue. So this is where we're seeing a lot of shuttling of carbohydrate and amino acids to go to build that endometrial lining, and that's the whole goal. So yes, you need to eat more protein, you need to eat more carbohydrate, But again, the sticking point is, did you ovulate or not?

So if you aren't aware of if you ovulated or not, you're tracking your own patterns, then just be acutely aware that in about the week before your next period comes, you really need to be amping up carbohydrate and protein. because that's going to help you hit intensities. It's going to kind of level that playing field, especially on days where you feel like you can really hit those intensities.

So if you aren't aware of if you ovulated or not, you're tracking your own patterns, then just be acutely aware that in about the week before your next period comes, you really need to be amping up carbohydrate and protein. because that's going to help you hit intensities. It's going to kind of level that playing field, especially on days where you feel like you can really hit those intensities.

You feel great, but then you go to do something and your heart rate's higher than it should be. You don't feel that you can hit those. If you're offsetting it with some increased carbohydrate beforehand, you're going to hit it.

You feel great, but then you go to do something and your heart rate's higher than it should be. You don't feel that you can hit those. If you're offsetting it with some increased carbohydrate beforehand, you're going to hit it.

So again, it's really dialing it back down to the individual now because we don't have enough robust research to make generalized ideas because of the nuance of have you ovulated or not? What are your ratios of estrogen and progesterone in that luteal phase?

So again, it's really dialing it back down to the individual now because we don't have enough robust research to make generalized ideas because of the nuance of have you ovulated or not? What are your ratios of estrogen and progesterone in that luteal phase?

So when we bring it back down to the general pop, it's like the best thing to do is to track your menstrual cycle over sleep, over how you're feeling, find your own patterns and dial in your training in your days according to what your pattern is.

So when we bring it back down to the general pop, it's like the best thing to do is to track your menstrual cycle over sleep, over how you're feeling, find your own patterns and dial in your training in your days according to what your pattern is.

It depends on how she feels. What we can't rely on are things like heart rate variability, because we know that changes with the autonomic nervous system change of progesterone. It's a good indication that you've ovulated because your heart rate variability tanks, but it's not a good indication of what your body can do. If you wake up, I always say it's the 10 minute rule.

It depends on how she feels. What we can't rely on are things like heart rate variability, because we know that changes with the autonomic nervous system change of progesterone. It's a good indication that you've ovulated because your heart rate variability tanks, but it's not a good indication of what your body can do. If you wake up, I always say it's the 10 minute rule.

You wake up and you feel awful and you're like, I really want to do this workout, but I don't know how it's going to go. Give yourself 10 minutes. If after 10 minutes, you can't hit those intensities or you just feel horrible,

You wake up and you feel awful and you're like, I really want to do this workout, but I don't know how it's going to go. Give yourself 10 minutes. If after 10 minutes, you can't hit those intensities or you just feel horrible,

change it, drop it down, do something that's more recovery, do something that's not going to be so taxing because we do have a limited amount of that stress acumen of how much stress we can handle. So if you're going to try to exert it all in a high-intensity workout, what do you have left over for the rest of the day?

change it, drop it down, do something that's more recovery, do something that's not going to be so taxing because we do have a limited amount of that stress acumen of how much stress we can handle. So if you're going to try to exert it all in a high-intensity workout, what do you have left over for the rest of the day?

And then that compounds because if you're always fighting it, then you're going to increase this baseline stress. sympathetic drive because you're fighting the training, you're fighting life. So give yourself that 10-minute rule. If it happens three days in a row, that's okay because it's a very short period of time. It's not going to last forever.

And then that compounds because if you're always fighting it, then you're going to increase this baseline stress. sympathetic drive because you're fighting the training, you're fighting life. So give yourself that 10-minute rule. If it happens three days in a row, that's okay because it's a very short period of time. It's not going to last forever.

So a lot of women have this internal conversation of, I have to do this. And it's really based on some kind of external motivation. They think everyone's watching them. But internally, you don't have to. If you give yourself permission, you end up training better, recovering better, and getting better gains.

So a lot of women have this internal conversation of, I have to do this. And it's really based on some kind of external motivation. They think everyone's watching them. But internally, you don't have to. If you give yourself permission, you end up training better, recovering better, and getting better gains.

It's not true. We see it comes from a misstep in food intake. And we also see that it's a cultural influence. Because if we think about how sports started, it started as a way for men to demonstrate how powerful and aggressive they are. And this is the original Olympics, right? There were no women allowed. And as we feed forward into sport and how it became okay for women to be involved, it

It's not true. We see it comes from a misstep in food intake. And we also see that it's a cultural influence. Because if we think about how sports started, it started as a way for men to demonstrate how powerful and aggressive they are. And this is the original Olympics, right? There were no women allowed. And as we feed forward into sport and how it became okay for women to be involved, it

At the high performance level, if a woman walks in and shows any fallibility, then she's immediately put on a lower stool, right? You can't play with the boys because you have a menstrual cycle. You're bleeding. You're a woman. You're a delicate flower.

At the high performance level, if a woman walks in and shows any fallibility, then she's immediately put on a lower stool, right? You can't play with the boys because you have a menstrual cycle. You're bleeding. You're a woman. You're a delicate flower.

So women would walk into that professional sports space and be excited if they were amenorrheic or didn't have periods or they trained hard enough and their period went away. because then they were more like men and they could play with the boys.

So women would walk into that professional sports space and be excited if they were amenorrheic or didn't have periods or they trained hard enough and their period went away. because then they were more like men and they could play with the boys.

If you start bringing up menstrual cycle in professional sport, now as of the past about four or five years, it's okay to talk about, which is, you know, what, 2020. So that myth of high intensity resistance training causing issues with the menstrual cycle, one, it's a cultural nuance for pushback against women being in that space.

If you start bringing up menstrual cycle in professional sport, now as of the past about four or five years, it's okay to talk about, which is, you know, what, 2020. So that myth of high intensity resistance training causing issues with the menstrual cycle, one, it's a cultural nuance for pushback against women being in that space.

But then the reality is women weren't eating enough to accommodate for that stress, which then feeds forward to low energy availability, maybe relative energy deficiency in sport, perturbations in all of our menstrual cycle hormones. So it's not the act of the high intensity resistance training.

But then the reality is women weren't eating enough to accommodate for that stress, which then feeds forward to low energy availability, maybe relative energy deficiency in sport, perturbations in all of our menstrual cycle hormones. So it's not the act of the high intensity resistance training.

It's the act of not fueling appropriately for it and then getting the okay to not have your period because, yeah, now you're in with your training hard enough. You've lost it. You're more like a man.

It's the act of not fueling appropriately for it and then getting the okay to not have your period because, yeah, now you're in with your training hard enough. You've lost it. You're more like a man.

Correct.

Correct.

fuel for the task at hand, because some people want to have a slight calorie deficit, even in high training. And if that deficit is at night away from training, maybe 150 to 200 calories, then it's going to help perpetuate body fat loss, not lean mass loss, and it's not going to interfere with recovery.

fuel for the task at hand, because some people want to have a slight calorie deficit, even in high training. And if that deficit is at night away from training, maybe 150 to 200 calories, then it's going to help perpetuate body fat loss, not lean mass loss, and it's not going to interfere with recovery.

It's the fueling in and around the stress, meaning the exercise stress, it's really important, but women have been so conditioned to not eat and not take up space, to be small, you know, all of these sociocultural things that women are afraid to admit the fact that they want to eat and they should be eating.

It's the fueling in and around the stress, meaning the exercise stress, it's really important, but women have been so conditioned to not eat and not take up space, to be small, you know, all of these sociocultural things that women are afraid to admit the fact that they want to eat and they should be eating.

So this is a nuance within the fitness community that we're really trying to change and get the mindset around you train hard, you eat well, and your body responds in kind.

So this is a nuance within the fitness community that we're really trying to change and get the mindset around you train hard, you eat well, and your body responds in kind.

Yes, they are.

Yes, they are.

Yeah. As estrogen starts to come up right before ovulation, that estrogen surge really dampens appetite. It also has an interplay with our appetite hormones, which is part of the reason why we don't have that great of an appetite.

Yeah. As estrogen starts to come up right before ovulation, that estrogen surge really dampens appetite. It also has an interplay with our appetite hormones, which is part of the reason why we don't have that great of an appetite.

Thanks.

Thanks.

It holds after ovulation, estrogen dips, you get hungry, it comes up and people are like, I have some cravings which are driven by progesterone because your body needs more calories. But at the same time with the elevation of estrogen, you're not hungry. You have cravings, but you're not hungry. Interesting. Yeah. So it's trying to disconnect those. It's like your appetite is something that

It holds after ovulation, estrogen dips, you get hungry, it comes up and people are like, I have some cravings which are driven by progesterone because your body needs more calories. But at the same time with the elevation of estrogen, you're not hungry. You have cravings, but you're not hungry. Interesting. Yeah. So it's trying to disconnect those. It's like your appetite is something that

We'll come back, of course, once you eat. But cravings are more of that psychological capacity of, yeah, my body needs more, but I'm not quite sure what. So to get women to understand what's happening across the board, it's always coming back to let's fuel appropriately for the exercise. And even if you're not hungry, if you are fueling appropriately at that point in time,

We'll come back, of course, once you eat. But cravings are more of that psychological capacity of, yeah, my body needs more, but I'm not quite sure what. So to get women to understand what's happening across the board, it's always coming back to let's fuel appropriately for the exercise. And even if you're not hungry, if you are fueling appropriately at that point in time,

If you end up with less, at least you've stopped that breakdown state, that catabolic state. So we don't get those perturbations in the hypothalamus. That's my biggest concern for women, is really taking care of that signaling from the brain to the rest of the body.

If you end up with less, at least you've stopped that breakdown state, that catabolic state. So we don't get those perturbations in the hypothalamus. That's my biggest concern for women, is really taking care of that signaling from the brain to the rest of the body.

And if we have fuel on board, even though we have appetite perturbations, and if you go do a really hard workout in the heat, you're not going to be hungry either. But if you're having a cold protein drink after that hot workout, you're taking care of that immediate need to shut down the signals that we need to break down things.

And if we have fuel on board, even though we have appetite perturbations, and if you go do a really hard workout in the heat, you're not going to be hungry either. But if you're having a cold protein drink after that hot workout, you're taking care of that immediate need to shut down the signals that we need to break down things.

Can we have another history lesson?

Can we have another history lesson?

All right. I just gave a talk at home to some young athletes on contraception because someone might be on the depot and if they're on it for more than two years, they get bone mineral density loss. So then the question of, okay, well, how does the oral contraceptive pill come up? How does that affect things? It's like, well, let's look at the history of it. Initially came from Stanford.

All right. I just gave a talk at home to some young athletes on contraception because someone might be on the depot and if they're on it for more than two years, they get bone mineral density loss. So then the question of, okay, well, how does the oral contraceptive pill come up? How does that affect things? It's like, well, let's look at the history of it. Initially came from Stanford.

It was funded by Catherine McCormick from McCormick family and a feminist activist, Margaret Singer. But because they were women, they couldn't get in the lab. So they got a guy from Stanford to develop the pill. And he's like, you know what? We need to put in a placebo week so that women feel like they're having a bleed.

It was funded by Catherine McCormick from McCormick family and a feminist activist, Margaret Singer. But because they were women, they couldn't get in the lab. So they got a guy from Stanford to develop the pill. And he's like, you know what? We need to put in a placebo week so that women feel like they're having a bleed.

So if we're looking at the three active pills and then the one sugar pill week, it was by design to make women feel like they are having control over their menstrual cycle and they would still have a bleed. But it's not a true bleed, it's a withdrawal bleed. So this becomes the confusing point for people who are on an oral contraceptive pill. They're like, I get my period.

So if we're looking at the three active pills and then the one sugar pill week, it was by design to make women feel like they are having control over their menstrual cycle and they would still have a bleed. But it's not a true bleed, it's a withdrawal bleed. So this becomes the confusing point for people who are on an oral contraceptive pill. They're like, I get my period.

It's like, no, you don't. Because the idea of the hormones that are in an oral contraceptive pill is to downregulate your ovarian function so that you don't ovulate. So you have a whole different hormone profile from someone who naturally cycles. So this depends on the type of oral contraceptive pill you're using. For the most part, monophasic is the one that's most prescribed.

It's like, no, you don't. Because the idea of the hormones that are in an oral contraceptive pill is to downregulate your ovarian function so that you don't ovulate. So you have a whole different hormone profile from someone who naturally cycles. So this depends on the type of oral contraceptive pill you're using. For the most part, monophasic is the one that's most prescribed.

So that means the three weeks of the active pill is the same dose of estrogen, progesterone, and then you have your sugar pill week or your withdrawal week, and then you start again. When we look at the repercussions of using oral contraceptive pill in active women, there's a higher amount of inflammatory responses and oxidative responses.

So that means the three weeks of the active pill is the same dose of estrogen, progesterone, and then you have your sugar pill week or your withdrawal week, and then you start again. When we look at the repercussions of using oral contraceptive pill in active women, there's a higher amount of inflammatory responses and oxidative responses.

So from a training standpoint, no one's done the study yet, but I would be interested in doing this, of looking at how that impacts adaptation. You do end up with a new baseline of this when you start taking the pill, we're not really sure how that impacts adaptation. We also look at the progestin component of the oral contraceptive pill because we have four generations of progesterone.

So from a training standpoint, no one's done the study yet, but I would be interested in doing this, of looking at how that impacts adaptation. You do end up with a new baseline of this when you start taking the pill, we're not really sure how that impacts adaptation. We also look at the progestin component of the oral contraceptive pill because we have four generations of progesterone.

The first generation was a really high dose and has a lot of risk factors, not really prescribed that much. Second generation is the most prescribed. And this is the one that people just take. It's in your IUD. It's in your OC. It has the least amount of side effects. And then we have a third and a fourth generation.

The first generation was a really high dose and has a lot of risk factors, not really prescribed that much. Second generation is the most prescribed. And this is the one that people just take. It's in your IUD. It's in your OC. It has the least amount of side effects. And then we have a third and a fourth generation.

The fourth generation is primarily used for women who have really bad PMS or PMDD, which is your premenstrual dysphoria disorder. So significant mood issues because that progestin has a direct effect on a lot of the dopamine receptors in the brain as well. The third generation is very androgenic.

The fourth generation is primarily used for women who have really bad PMS or PMDD, which is your premenstrual dysphoria disorder. So significant mood issues because that progestin has a direct effect on a lot of the dopamine receptors in the brain as well. The third generation is very androgenic.

So we see that in some preliminary research that improves speed and power by the second week of intake because it's accumulated. So when we're looking directly at an oral contraceptive pill, We can't make generalizations because you have low dose, high dose estrogen. We see that a 30 microgram dose increases hypertrophy but not strength because estrogen increases the satellite cell aspect.

So we see that in some preliminary research that improves speed and power by the second week of intake because it's accumulated. So when we're looking directly at an oral contraceptive pill, We can't make generalizations because you have low dose, high dose estrogen. We see that a 30 microgram dose increases hypertrophy but not strength because estrogen increases the satellite cell aspect.

So for my power and Olympic athletes, Olympic lifting athletes, that's a detriment because they'll put on muscle mass but no strength. So we've had to look at changing their OC or getting them off. for women who have breakthrough bleeding, that higher incidence of or that higher intake of estrogen is really beneficial. So when we look overall at how it impacts women from an athletic standpoint,

So for my power and Olympic athletes, Olympic lifting athletes, that's a detriment because they'll put on muscle mass but no strength. So we've had to look at changing their OC or getting them off. for women who have breakthrough bleeding, that higher incidence of or that higher intake of estrogen is really beneficial. So when we look overall at how it impacts women from an athletic standpoint,

It's so variable in the hormone profile that we can't make generalizations. We only look at the very high performance athletes and what's happening up there because that can make or break an athlete. So from the general touch point, we don't know enough.

It's so variable in the hormone profile that we can't make generalizations. We only look at the very high performance athletes and what's happening up there because that can make or break an athlete. So from the general touch point, we don't know enough.